The Heart of the Matter
by DarkNite109
Summary: Kairi is stuck at home, forced to wait for some sign, any sign of the boy she loves. But what happens when someone appears to drag her into the heart of the matter? An account of what happened to Kairi from the moment she was kidnapped by Axel.
1. Sea Breeze

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Kingdom Hearts. They are owned by Square Enix or Disney, they can fight it out.

Attention! This is your first and only warning! This Fanfic contains a bunch of spoilers, so if you haven't played the game yet and don't want to know what happens, turn back now!

This is pretty much the tale of what happened to Kairi between the time she was kidnapped by Axel until the end of the game. I don't really know how long it is going to be, so I guess we'll see.

Please read and review!

"Kairi, Kairi!"

The laughter of the class was what brought her back to reality. She found herself lying flat on her face, the sweet-smelling wooden floor boards beneath her. Selphie was looking at her with concern, attempting to hold the class back.

"Sorry," Kairi muttered, sitting up and climbing back into her desk just as their teacher entered. The rest of the class set off to their own chairs, muttering under their breath. Kairi could feel her face burning. That was the third time she'd passed out in the last two weeks.

As the teacher began putting the day's schedule up on the board, Selphie turned to Kairi. "What happened? Was it another dream?"

Kairi nodded in embarrassment.

"How long has this been going on?" Selphie whispered.

"About a month."

Selphie whistled quietly and turned back around, pulling out her books and a bright pink pen with a huge feather on the end of it. Kairi went back to her own work, but try as she might, she couldn't focus. He just kept sliding into her mind, uninvited. Ever since that moment a month ago when he had suddenly waltzed back into her consciousness, she had been unable to shut him out. Sora was gone. She knew that. As gone as Riku was. They were off to save the world without her.

Late in the afternoon, Kairi and Selphie walked along the long dirt track. It passed the beach and then looped back around toward town, skirting civilization. It was peaceful, and the girls often took it on their way home. Over the past few days they had been staying late after school let out, working on a project for their chemistry lab.

"Damn, I can't believe it's already six o'clock," Selphie complained. "We never do anything but work anymore!" Kairi giggled. "By the way," Selphie went on, "Tidus and Wakka want to know if we wanna hang out tonight. What'dya think?"

"No thank you," Kairi answered. "Whenever you and Tidus get together it just turns into a make-out session anyway."

Selphie blushed but she looked pleased with herself. Tidus, one of the local boys, had been the subject of Selphie's interest for almost two months now. "Whatever. Hey, where are you going?"

Kairi had taken the left fork instead of the right where the road split at, the old gnarled tree. She glanced back at Selphie. "You go on. I want to take a walk on the beach."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Kairi just waved her away. "I'm fine."

The sea air sure brought back memories.

Little tendrils of foam danced on top of the waves, stirred by the pervading ocean breeze. The sun had just begun to sink beneath the horizon, sending pink and honey-orange rays shooting through the deepening velvet blue of the sky. For some reason, it it made Kairi want to cry.

Arrghh! No matter what she did, she couldn't stop thinking about him! The color of his eyes, the sound of his voice, the kind way he had of asking what was wrong whenever she was depressed. It seemed hardly possible that she hadn't seen Sora in two years. She had come home from her kidnapping by those horrible Heartless things, only to…forget.

Kairi didn't know how it had happened, but somehow she had just managed to dismiss her time spent in other worlds, and at one point she had hardly been able to remember Sora's name. But everything was back now.

_I wonder if the island is only safe because of them…? _

She giggled a little. It sounded so silly; her two best friends…heroes.

"Wow, I can see why he's so into you."

Kairi whipped around, turning to face the voice. A man had appeared on the beside the tide line. He was tall and thin, his hair red and almost impossibly spiky. He definitely wasn't dressed for the beach. His clothing consisted of a black coat so long it reached down past the tops of his boots.

"Who're you?" Kairi asked, a little nervously. She had never seen this guy before. He didn't look like a typical inhabitant of her town. Or any town, for that matter.

"Axel," the man answered. His voice was confident, almost to the point of arrogance. He had the demeanor of one used to people jumping at his every whim.

Kairi wasn't feeling intimidated, however. Just slightly annoyed. How dare this idiot come and interrupt her nostalgia?

"What do you want?" she asked curtly.

"Oh? Is this a private beach or something?" Axel said innocently, glancing over his shoulder as though looking for some kind of signpost.

Kairi was silent for a moment. "No."

"Then I have every right to be here, too," he said, stretching and turning toward the ocean. He seemed to be focusing on the largest of the many islands that dotted the coast. "So that's where the two of you used to hang out."

"The two of who?"

He looked at her keenly. "You and Sora."

Kairi's eyes widened. "You know Sora?" Her feet carried her closer to the stranger in her excitement. "Where is he? Are you one of his new friends? Answer me!"

Axel just smiled. The expression made Kairi's blood run cold. It was like the smile of a snake as it stared at the little rat it was about to devour.

"Sure, I know Sora. We're, like, best friends." He moved so quickly that Kairi barely had time to blink. His hand enclosed her wrist in an iron grip, sending pain lancing up her arm.

"Ow, get off, you're hurting me!" She tried to pull away, but it was like he wasn't human. With his other hand, he made a slow, deliberate motion in midair, moving his forefinger up and down and then slashing diagonally. Kairi gasped at what began to form. It looked like black fog, appearing out of nowhere and surging together until it formed a sort of torpid, undulating vortex. It was toward this Axel pulled her, the same sarcastic smile still dominating on his lips.

Kairi held her breath as she was tugged through the mass of blackness. The touch of the fog chilled her to the bone, filling her with a sense of despair so acute that she found herself crying and shaking. She felt Axel release her wrist.

"You're fine," he said stiffly. "Stop freaking out."

Kairi looked up. She was kneeling on the ground, though you couldn't really call it ground. They had appeared in a tunnel of swirling colors, so dazzling Kairi had to shield her eyes.

"W-What is this?" she demanded, staring at Axel wildly.

Axel put his hands on his hips. "The Realm of Darkness," he announced, "Pretty nasty place."

Kairi didn't need to be told. She could _feel _it in every part of her. The terrible, consuming clutch of the darkness was pulling at the heart inside her. Once again it seemed she had been pulled into the dark mysterious dealings of the other worlds, though this time, she wasn't asleep.

_I can't panic, I can't panic!_ She repeated this in her head over and over, but it didn't seem to be helping. The deep pits of despair were still pulling her in…

A sudden sharp sound echoed through the tunnel, cracking the muffled silence the thick air seemed to induce. Kairi stared around wildly, trying to ascertain the origin of the noise.

A few yards away sat a dog. He was big, yellow, and floppy-looking, with eyes like black buttons. His tail was swishing back and forth across the tunnel floor (or whatever it was they were standing on) and his mouth was open in a friendly expression.

It was probably another trick of Axel's, but upon looking his way Kairi saw that her kidnapper looked just as confused as she did.

"What are you doing here dog?" he demanded, indignant. "Animals can't come into the realm!"

"Come here, boy!" Kairi called. The dog did not need telling twice. He bounded in her direction, barreling through the swirl of lights at top speed. She braced herself, but the dog still almost knocked her to the ground. He was huge. Kairi wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling a little better. At least she felt brave enough to ask some questions.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, glaring at Axel with every ounce of hostility she had in her (which wasn't much).

Axel was looking at the dog with distaste. "Hey, this isn't our final destination. I'm just keeping you here while they prepare."

"They?"

"Organization 13."

The name seemed pretty forbidding to Kairi; not the kind of thing you ever wanted to be a part of, kind of like the chess club.

"You've got an important job to do," Axel was continuing. "You're gonna be our deluxe Sora-bait."

Kairi suddenly felt something beginning to replace her fear. Anger. "Sora-bait? There is no way you're using me for that!"

Axel grinned. "The captive doesn't get a choice, and let me tell you. You're the captive. Got it memorized?"

_What do I do? _Kairi had been taught, by teachers and parents and friends alike, what you were supposed to do if you were ever kidnapped or attacked. You were suppose to fight like crazy and scream for help. But there hadn't been any time to fight, and there wasn't anyone she could scream for. She was utterly alone.

But a cold nose against the palm of her hand reminded her that she wasn't completely alone. _Great, I've got a dog, _she thought. _But isn't there some way out of here? _

As though in answer to her question, a door appeared a few feet to her left. It was strangely insubstantial, as though she were looking at it from underwater. It's presence seemed to anger Axel even more than the dog had.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded. "What's with all the random shit cropping up everywhere?"

Kairi was glancing from him to the door, weighing her chances. She might not make it, but if she didn't move now she would lose the element of surprise…

Making up her mind, she lunged to her left, reaching the door in a matter of seconds. She had one arm through it, when she turned back without meaning to. Axel hadn't budged an inch, he was just standing there watching her, his arms folded.

"You know, if you go in there there's no telling where you're gonna come out."

Kairi didn't pause to consider this remark, just pulled a face and darted through the door, the big floppy dog at her heels.

Axel shook his head as the door disappeared. "God damn typical."

I know, I know, it was kinda short, but they're gonna get longer. If you liked it, then please, please, please leave me a review. It's what makes everything worth it.

Next Chapter: The Usual Spot


	2. The Usual Spot

Disclaimer: I own a lot of things. Clothes, dogs, little elastic hair band thingies. Kingdom Hearts, however, I do not own.

Author's Note: Thanks to the two people who left me reviews. It makes me feel good, though I wish there had been more. Anyway, all I can do is keep writing, right?

Chapter 2

The Usual Spot

The darkness swirled around Kairi's legs, grabbing at her like greedy hands. It seeped into her pores and made her whole body shake in revulsion. It only lasted for a moment this time. She found herself standing in the middle of a small city. Or a large town. She couldn't tell which. What was the difference? Town's had town squares and cities didn't, right? And then there were villages…

Kairi forced herself to stop thinking before she strained something.

Whatever it was, city, town, or village, this place was completely new to her. Physically, she had been to a whole manner of worlds, but she had been asleep for the vast majority of them. She had always supposed it would be thrilling to go somewhere new, but this place didn't seem very exciting.

She was standing in a convergence of streets, right in front of a large building with the picture of bright, cartoonish ring hanging over it. There was a woman standing behind the counter, reading something, but she didn't seem to have noticed Kairi's sudden appearance from the Realm of Darkness. Maybe this kind of thing happened a lot around here.

The rest of the buildings were all as equally bright and welcoming looking, but the entire square seemed to be empty. It was silent too, so silent that when the woman in the ring-shop turned a page of her book Kairi heard it from almost twenty yards away.

A snuffling at her feet drew her attention downward. The dog was beside her, black button eyes staring up at her and tail thumping against the cobblestones. Fortunately, Axel was nowhere to be seen. It would seem she had left him in the Realm.

Thank god for that.

The dog stuck his nose into her hand, sniffling. Kairi felt something cold and metallic bump against her palm. The dog had tags!

_Pluto_

"So that's your name, huh?" Kairi said, scratching him on the head. "Funny name. Okay, Pluto, let's go find out where the hell we are."

There were four streets branching off from her current location in the empty square. They all looked rather similar, except one led uphill, one led down, and two just meandered along levelly. She chose the down one for no particular reason, and was immediately pleased by her choice.

There were voices drifting up toward her, loud excited voices. Pluto ran ahead of Kairi, loping along in such a lopsided manner that she couldn't understand why he didn't trip over his own ears. By the time Kari reached the bottom of the hill, he was nowhere to be seen. That was alright. He wasn't her dog anyway, and she was sure he would come back at some point. Besides, there were things to interest her here.

The source of the voices turned out to be a group of kids around her own age. They were separated into two groups, almost like teams, and they were all watching two of their number, who were duking it out in the center. One of the two was ginger-haired and skinny, the other muscular. They were both gripping blue, wiffle-bat looking things, and proceeding to beat the crap out of each other.

From where Kairi stood, they seemed pretty evenly matched. The ginger-haired kid was quick-footed and agile, while the other guy had a lot of strength behind his swing. He, however, was wearing a black hat, which constantly seemed to be slipping in front of his eyes. Kairi wasn't sure if it was a fashion statement or just a lame attempt to keep the long silver hair out of his eyes.

While she watched, Ginger swatted Silver in the shoulder, knocking him to one side. The two kids behind him cheered, while his opponent's team scowled. Kairi took a few steps forward, to the edge of the ring. Ginger must have seen her, because he looked round unconsciously. Silver took this opportunity to pick himself up and smash the other guy across the face. Ginger grunted and toppled to the ground.

"Ha! Take that, Hayner!" Silver yelled, punching the air in triumph.

Hayner picked himself of cobblestones, wiping quickly at his eyes, which had begun to tear. "Screw you, Siefer. Rematch. She distracted me." He turned to glare at Kairi. Absolutely everyone else followed his gaze.

"No way, man," Siefer protested. "We said one match. I won. We get to use the Sandlot tonight." He shot a smile at Kairi. "Thanks, babe." He turned back to his posse. "Come on, guys. Let's see what we can shake up before dinner. See you later!" Kairi was sure this was addressed to her, because a wink accompanied it. She felt an intense rush of dislike, and glared at his retreating back.

"That guy's such a louse." One of Hayner's two friends, a pretty, dark-haired girl of maybe fifteen, had spoken. "Don't let him bother you."

"I won't," Kairi assured her.

Hayner looked a little put out. "Olette, don't worry about her, she's the reason we lost!" He was almost whining.

Olette shrugged. "He was probably gonna beat you anyway. Besides, who cares? We'll just hang out at the Usual Spot."

Hayner still looked pissed, but he shut his mouth. "I'm sorry," Kairi tried. "I didn't mean to distract you."

He shrugged dismissively. "S'okay."

"What's your name?" Hayner's other friend, this one a boy, had stepped forward. He was a little chubby, with black badly-spiked hair. "I'm Pence."

"Kairi."

"That's pretty," Olette said, cocking her head. "I don't think I've ever met a Kairi before. What's it mean?"

"Uh…winter rain," Kairi answered, feeling a little self-conscious. Nobody had ever asked her that before, and her name meant such a stupid thing. Who wanted rain in the winter?

But Olette seemed to think it was cool. "You doing anything?" she asked. Kairi shook her head.

"Come hang out with us!" Pence said, a little over-excitedly.

So Kairi followed her new-found friends out of the sandlot, and back up to the town square. The ring-selling woman was still reading her book when they passed, though she looked up to wave at Olette, Hayner, and Pence.

"So…" Hayner began casually, "You from around here?"

Kairi debated telling him the truth. They seemed like nice people, and who knew? Maybe they had more of a clue what was going on with the worlds than she did. But then again…

"No, I'm new in town," she decided on. "I'm actually…here looking for someone."

"Really?" Pence asked. "Who? Maybe we know them."

"His name's Sora."

Hayner stopped so suddenly the other two walked into him. "You know Sora?"

Kairi felt a flood of excitement. "Yes! Is he here?"

But Hayner shook his head and started to walk again. "No. He was here, but he left a couple of weeks ago."

"Describe him to me," Kairi demanded, a little harsher than she meant to.

The three shared confused glances. "Uh…he was kinda taller than us…he had, like, light brown spiky hair…and big yellow shoes."

Kairi's excitement was beginning to ebb. That didn't sound like Sora. Sure, there were the yellow shoes but anyone could have those. Her Sora had _dark _brown hair, and he wasn't all that tall. Of course, things could have changed.

Only one way to tell for sure.

"Hey…this guy… was he by any chance lugging around a big old key?"

"Yeah!" Pence exclaimed. "It was really cool. Oh, and he had these two friends with him too…"

"Donald and Goofy?"

"That's the ones!"

"It is him!" Kairi could feel a huge smile spreading across her face. Her heart rate seemed to have gone up, and hope was seeping all the way to the tips of her toes. So Sora _had _been here. She was on the right track!

It only took them a few more minutes to reach the Usual Spot. It was situated in a covered lot between two warehouses, its opening covered by a red curtain. Inside was a jumbled assortment of second-hand furniture and a mini-fridge. There was a dart-board on one wall and a photograph collage on the other.

"Nice place," Kairi commented.

"We try," Hayner answered dryly. He was still being a little cool with her, but she didn't blame him. It was partly thanks to her that Siefer had won their little fight. Olette flopped down on the couch and Pence followed suit. Kairi remained standing, not knowing exactly what to do.

"So, tell us," Pence said conversationally, "How do you know Sora?"

Kairi perched on an arm of a worn-out blue easy-chair. Where to begin? "We…we grew up together. I haven't seen him in two years, though." She willed herself not to cry. She refused to go to pieces in front of strangers, especially Hayner.

Hayner, however, was now looking at her curiously. "Your friend. He seemed like he was in a hurry. Is he in some kinda trouble or something?"

Kairi couldn't help herself from smiling. "I guess you could call it that. Except, he's the one who's gonna fix the trouble."

"That's good to hear," Olette said, "Cause lately, there's been a lot of weird stuff going on."

"Like what?"

Hayner gave Olette a sharp look, but she continued, not paying him the least bit of attention. "Like…there's been these weird sounds coming from the mansion in the woods. Some people say it sounds like laughing—,"

"But others say it's crying," Pence chimed in.

"Yeah. And there was this one time about a month ago when somebody stole all the photos in Twilight Town"

"What?" Kairi asked, chuckling a bit. "What a dumb crime."

"I know, right? But not only did they steal the actual photos, they stole the word 'photo' too!"

"You mean, like…you couldn't say it?"

"Yeah," Olette answered, her face shining in a way that suggested she was telling a particularly good ghost story. "And that's not all—."

This time it was Hayner that cut her off. "Things have just been…weird. Lately its felt like…I don't know. Like something's missing somehow. And when your friend was here…" He glanced in Kairi's direction. "When Sora was here, I guess everything kinda felt right again."

Kairi didn't have to ask what he meant. Sora had had that effect on her all her life. While Riku had always been there to create the excitement, Sora was always the one to sooth the hurts and lift her up when she was down. But something else Hayner had said had struck home.

"Are you telling me Sora's not here anymore?"

Pence shook his head. "He left on the train a couple of weeks ago."

"Oh. Dammit."

Olette suddenly jumped to her feet, echoing Kairi's curse. "Shit, guys. I promised my mom I'd be home for dinner this time. She's always going on about how all I ever do is hang out with a couple of boys. Parents…" She waved to Kairi and left via the red curtain.

"I think I'm gonna get some ice cream," Pence said after a moment.

"Get me one," Hayner said.

" 'Kay. Want one?"

Kairi shrugged. "Sure."

"Cool. See ya guys."

When he'd left, Hayner and Kairi sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. At last, Hayner stood up and headed to the curtain. "I really wanna burn off some energy. You're welcome to come…"

"No, that's okay," Kairi answered. She could tell he didn't really want her to come. He was still kind of sore at her, apparently. Besides, she wanted time to think.

She flopped down on one of the couches after Hayner had gone. Her brain was really working on overtime. Nothing made sense and, at the same time, everything did. Somehow the Realm of Darkness had spat her out in this Twilight Town place, a place where Sora had been recently. These kids knew him, they'd spoken with him.

And the there was Axel. He was part of some society…what had he called it? Organization Thirteen? It sounded forbidding enough. And apparently, they wanted her to lure Sora to them. Well, it was never going to happen.

She was just beginning to consider her options, when the red curtain swished again. It was not, however, one of her three new friends. It was Siefer. He'd removed his ridiculous hat, and his silvery hair now shone like burnished steel. He was attractive, in an arrogant way.

"Can I help you?" Kairi asked, peeved at being interrupted in her musings.

Siefer just grinned at her and sidled the rest of the way in. "Hangin' out in the Usual Dump, are you?" He laughed loudly at his own joke. "Come on, let me buy you something to eat."

"I'm fine," Kairi told him.

His lips turned up in a very slight sneer. "Come on, sweetheart." He grabbed her by the hand and hauled her to her feet. "Let's go. You're the cutest thing in this whole shitty town."

"Get off me!" Kairi spat, trying to jerk away. It didn't work. Her first assessment of Siefer had been correct. He was strong.

"Come on, baby, I don't bite!"

"And neither do I. Unless of course, I'm provoked."

Siefer dropped Kairi's wrist, wheeling around to face the newcomer. His face clouded for a moment as he realized there was no one standing by the curtain. Then he saw the tall man in the black coat in the back corner.

"How about you leave my girlfriend alone?" Axel asked, venom dripping from every syllable.

Siefer backed toward the door. "Sorry man, didn't think she was taken. See ya."

Kairi cast Axel a glance. "I'm not your girlfriend."

Axel laughed. "That's the only thing a dusch-bag like this guy'll understand."

"Thanks," Kairi said grudgingly, rubbing at her wrist.

"Always happy to help out a fellow redhead. Now tell me, how're you enjoying your little vacation?"

_Next Chapter: The Train Knows the Way_


	3. The Train Knows the Way

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. To bad, cause I would really work it.

Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so glad to have gotten so many wonderful reviews. I tried to respond to all of them and I think I succeeded, so that's a good thing.

Brief Edit: It has come to my attention that Seifer's hair is blond. Oops. Sorry Seif. Didn't mean to go all Sephiroth on you.

So. Yes, Seifer's hair will be blond from this day forward. Thank you to everyone who corrected me!

Chapter 3: The Train Knows the Way

Kairi glared at him. "The mountains are a vacation. A theme parks's a vacation. Maybe even taking a walk down to the beach is a vacation. _This _is not a vacation!"

Axel was laughing, holding up his hands against her tirade. "Okay, okay. Not a vacation. I can deal with that. I'm not overly concerned with how comfortable you are. I just need to get you to Sai'ix."

"Sai'ix?" Kairi asked, ears perking up. "Who's Sai'ix?"

Axel looked like he could have punched himself in the face. Or her. Or the wall. Obviously, that name was not something he was supposed to mention. He was fighting to keep his game-face on.

"Doesn't matter," he muttered to himself. "I just gotta…"

"I am _not _coming back with you," Kairi said resolutely.

Axel folded his arms in exasperation. "Jesus, you are stubborn."

Kairi didn't bother to ask what 'Jesus' meant. Probably some old cuss word from Axel's home world. "Stubborn? What, you just expected me to come with you quietly?"

"Girls usually do."

"Just think of me as a boy, then," Kairi answered testily.

"That would be…kinda difficult," Axel said quietly, eyes darting up and down. Kairi suddenly wished she was wearing something more substantial than a pink sundress. She shifted uncomfortably. Axel's eyes went back to her face.

"Well, I'll be see'in ya." He raised an arm, making the gesture that opened the portal of darkness. It rose up, unfurling like smoke in the enclosed space. Just having it close made Kairi feel slightly sick.

"What, you're just leaving?" she asked, shocked. She hadn't been expecting this.

Axel shrugged. "Hey, you saw what happened earlier. Seems like ya got an aptitude for opening up the gates. I can't bring you anywhere while you can just run away like that. But don't get too lonely." He grinned slyly. "I'll be back." Kairi watched as the darkness consumed him, until even his vibrant hair had been diluted.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked the room in general. The room wasn't quick to answer, so she made her way out through the curtain. Evening had crept up on the town while she had been inside. Lights had glimmered into life, turning windows into glowing postage stamps decorating the sides of the buildings.

Everything seemed so peaceful, but at the same time, rather lonely, as though this town was the only town in the entire world. Did the people here even know that anything beyond them existed? Kairi doubted it. No one in her world did either, and neither had she until a few months ago. It was just so easy, forgetting the extraneous things and focusing just on life as you knew it. But it didn't seem like a good idea to her. Ignoring the disquiet in the worlds was no doubt what had enabled the heartless to take so much control.

Or was it simply human being's weakness?

Kairi's thoughts were interrupted by someone shouting her name. She turned to see Olette at the top of the hill, waving her hands. "Come on, Kairi!" she was yelling, "The ice cream's gonna melt!"

Kairi smiled and trudged back to her new friend. "There's ice cream?" she asked, suddenly interested.

"Pence brought it. We were planning on roasting marshmallows tonight, but it's too hot." She supported these words by fanning herself with her hand. "It's bizarre weather for September."

"Yeah," Kairi mused, not mentioning that it was barely May back at home.

The two girls returned to the Usual Spot to find Pence and Hayner already there. Sitting down, Kairi was handed a bright blue ice cream bar. She eyed it critically. She had never seen dessert this color before.

"It's good," Hayner assured her. "We eat it all the time."

Kairi took a tentative lick. It was salty and sweet at the same time, like taking a bite out of the early morning ocean air. She ate it all very quickly, only then realizing how hungry she was. Pence watched her licking her fingers, then pointed to the fridge.

"We have more food if you want it."

Kairi didn't need telling twice. She emerged with a pint of orange juice and bowl full of trail mix. An odd combination but suitable nonetheless. While she ate she listened to her new friends converse.

"So…I got our grade back for the summer project," Olette began.

"Really?" Hayner asked, pausing in his devouring of the ice cream. "What'd we get?"

"A ninety-one percent."

"What?" Pence protested. "But it was an awesome project. We should'a got one hundred!"

"Yeah, I said the same thing to our teacher," Olette explained. "He said 'unsolved mysteries of Twilight Town' was a really good topic. We got marked down because Hayner can't spell."

"Hey!" Hayner piped up defensively. "It's not my fault neither of you guys would write it. I'm literatetly challenged."

All four of them laughed, even Kairi, who wasn't really sure what they were talking about.

As it was a Friday night in Twilight Town (it was Tuesday back at home) Hayner, Olette, and Pence had arranged to sleep in the Usual Spot. Apparently it was a common practice on the weekends and during the summer. They invited Kairi to stay, which was lucky, as she had nowhere else to go.

She and Olette were sharing the couch, while the boys had been left with the floor. They had grumbled about it for awhile, but had drifted off to sleep almost immediately, as Olette had predicted. Kairi, however, wasn't tired. There was just too much circling around in her head. It had only been a few hours since she had been kidnapped, but it felt much longer. It felt like a lifetime. She and Olette stayed up talking, and Kairi soon discovered they shared a lot of interests.

At one point, the conversation lapsed into silence. Kairi was staring into space, her thoughts straying…

"Tell me what he's like."

"Huh?" she asked, glancing at Olette.

"Tell me what Sora's like."

"Didn't you meet him?"

"Yeah, but he was only here for about a day." She hugged her knees, bring them up to her chin. "He seemed nice."

"He is," Kairi smiled. "He's probably the nicest boy I've ever met."

"Cute too," Olette interjected.

"Yeah." Kairi smiled sadly. "I doubt he's been thinking about me as often as I've been thinking about him."

Olette snorted. "Bullshit. He probably thinks about you more. Don't get all depressed. You're gonna find him and then the two of you can make…" She paused. "Did you hear that?"

Kairi listened but didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. "I don't hear any—." She broke off. A low distant whistle had sounded, bouncing along the narrow streets like a rubber ball.

"That's a train whistle," Olette muttered, getting to her feet and pacing to the curtain.

Kairi tossed her blanket off and followed. "But isn't there a station here?"

Olette nodded. "Yeah, but I know the train schedule by heart. There aren't any between eleven and eight. It's half past twelve." She glanced at Kairi. "This is weird. You wanna go check it out?"

"Sure." Kairi doubted she was likely to get any sleep anyway.

They left the two boys where they were, exiting the Usual Spot and taking a road that wound steeply upwards. It was a muggy, rather listless night. They passed quiet shops and lightless houses, windows opened to coax in whatever slight breeze there was.

The station was as empty as the rest of the town, but here there was something distinctly different. The brick building was lit, its overhead lights high and blinding. Sitting on the first track, just inside the door was a magnificently colored train. It looked like something out of a fairytale (though fairytales didn't usually have trains in them), almost glowing in the fluorescent lights.

"What the hell…" Olette looked at a lost for words. "I really wish this had come before we turned in our project…"

"Why?" Kairi asked curiously. Sure, the train was odd looking but it didn't strike her as an unsolved mystery.

"This train…it's the one that just appears sometimes. It comes from a track that leads nowhere and you can only ever see it from this one bridge in the north of town." Olette did a little dance of excitement. "And this is the second time, too!"

"What?" Kairi looked at her in confusion. "What do you—?"

"What are you two doing?"

The girls turned around to find Hayner and Pence, both puffy-eyed and droopy, behind them. Pence's hair was all over the place, sticking up around his hurriedly placed hat.

"We heard a train," Olette explained. "_The _train." There was no need for her to elaborate. Both boys knew exactly what she was talking about.

But Kairi didn't.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded, feeling exceedingly out of the loop. "Why's this train so special?" The other three glanced at each other.

"This train appeared the day Sora was here, too. He left on it."

Kairi's heart rate had increased. _Sora. _She had finally found a clue!

"Could this train bring me to him?" she asked eagerly.

Olette nodded. "I think it could."

"Yeah, me to," Hayner agreed. "I don't know why, but for some reason it seems…"

"Right," Pence finished.

"Exactly."

Kairi turned to the sleek, gleaming machine. _So this is the right train for me, _she thought.

For a moment, she hesitated. She liked these people. They had been good friends to her. They had even given her blue ice cream. It would have been so nice just to stay with them for a few days…But the train could up and leave at any moment, and she wouldn't give up a chance to find Sora. Not for anything in the world.

She turned back to her friends. "Thank you."

Hayner grinned, stretching. "Hey, no problem." He seemed to have warmed up to her a bit. "Hey, when you see Sora tell him we said hi."

"You got it," Kairi assured him. "But I don't know how long it'll take me. I don't know how to drive a train."

Olette was staring past her, at the engine. "You know, I don't think you need to know how. I think the train knows where to go."

Kairi grinned, hugging all three of them a swift goodbye. She was just about to step onto the platform, when a lone bark echoed through the station. She looked up to see Pluto barreling up the cobblestones, tail held high and ears flopping.

"Hey boy!" she greeted him, scratching his back. "You coming with me?"

Pluto gave a bark of approval. Kairi laughed and jumped up onto the platform, the dog at her heels. The moment her hand touched the side of the coach, the train roared to life and the door slid open for her.

She was on her way.

_Chapter Four: The Sailor, the Sorcerer, and the Sadist _


	4. The Sailor, the Sorcerer, and the Sadist

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I own your dog, Scruffy.

Chapter 4

The Sailor, the Sorcerer, and the Sadist

Axel bowed low, his shaggy mane of hair almost sweeping the floor. The flickering torches on either side sent scattered shadows dancing across the rough stone; demons lurking in the shelter of the dark. He could feel the glare of the man in front of him, beating down onto the back of his neck like an avenging sun. He wouldn't be surprised if he had a rash the next day.

"Rise, Axel," the man said, "And explain."

"I'm sorry to inform you, Lord Xemnas…that I lost the girl."

Xemnas folded his arms. He wore a black coat, identical to Axel's. His hair was long and silver, and he had an odd, rather artificial-looking tan. He was the center of Organization 13, its heart and its blood. He had recruited Axel to his cause a few months ago.

"You are beginning to try my patience. I bestowed this job upon you, Axel, because I believed you were the best suited to it. You, who are both my greatest friend and keenest ally."

_Liar, _Axel thought, repulsed. _I'm more like you greatest slave and keenest bitch. _

"I apologize," he said blandly.

Xemnas' eyes flashed. "Apologize? You may have yet compromised our entire operation! The girl must be brought to Sai'x immediately!"

Axel was nodding and bowing again. "Yes, Sir, I'll go at once."

Before Axel could go on, Xemnas raised a hand, stepping through the portal of darkness rising up behind him. In his place now stood another. This man was dressed identical to the rest of the members of the Organization, but he had two slanting scars across his forehead, forming a lopsided 'X'.

"Sai'x," Axel greeted him.

"So good to see you, Axel," the man called. "I hear you're failing, as per normality."

Axel's hands balled into fists, but he held his tongue. This man was psychotic, everyone in the Organization knew that. Best not to get on his bad side.

Which of course, Axel was already on.

"I've been waiting for the girl for some time now, and yet here you stand, without your prize. Tell me Axel, what is so difficult about persuading a woman to follow you?"

"She's not an idiot," Axel answered, "And she can manipulate the realm. Better than some members of the Organization, actually."

"Indeed?" His expression had grown hungrier. "I can hardly wait to meet this girl."

Axel cringed. He didn't want to think about this; Sai'x getting his hands on Kairi. She seemed so pure, so untainted by anything. The idea of this man touching her, or even looking at her, made him feel physically ill.

"You're not going to turn her into one of your toys," he said, his voice more confident than he felt.

Sai'x raised a thin eyebrow. "Oh? You mean like the last one."

Axel could feel his skin prickling. This man disgusted him.

Sai'x was now tapping his chin, feigning recall. "What was her name…Namine, that was it." His eyes narrowed. "She screamed quite beautifully when I—,"

"Shut up!" Axel yelled, "I don't want to hear about it."

Sai'x grinned, showing two rows of yellow teeth. "I wonder how Sora's girl will scream when we finally find her…"

* * *

When Kairi awoke, she was no longer in Twilight Town. The train had left the well-tended fields and villages, to be replaced with a bleak expanse of craggy terrain. She had been intent on watching the transition, of possibly finding out where exactly she was going, but she had fallen asleep. The train's route would forever be a mystery.

Pluto was still locked in slumber, lying splayed across three seats opposite Kairi. His ear was twitching slightly, and she imagined he was dreaming of chasing rabbits or whatever else dogs were supposed to dream about.

Standing up, she stretched and yawned loudly. There didn't seem to be any way out of the coach into the rest of the train (she had checked earlier) so she sat back down, waiting for something to appear in the distance other than rocks.

She didn't have long to wait.

It marred the horizon like some dark, slumbering beast. A few minutes later Kairi was able to pick out individual buildings, all small and run down, and one massive structure, dominating the area. It was made of dark, stained stone and seemed to be in the process of either crumbling apart or being built. Possibly both. All in all, it looked like a city from a fairytale. A depressing fairytale.

The train ground to a halt on what looked to have been at one time a battlement, but now looked like it was being devoured by some creature that had an appetite for stone. Kairi placed a hand on Pluto's head. He licked her hand and sprang up, almost foaming at the mouth in excitement.

"Calm down, boy, we don't even know where we are."

The moment she stood up, the train's door sprang open. Feeling slightly apprehensive, she stepped out into the new world.

There wasn't that much to see. Everything just seemed to consist of small, one-story stone buildings that lined meandering avenues. There didn't seemed to be any kind of sentient beings around either. The only sound was the steady drip, drip, drip of a sluggish fountain carved into a garden wall.

"This place…feels familiar," Kairi commented to Pluto as they walked along what could hardly pass for a street.

Pluto didn't answer, just panted, his pink tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. Suddenly, he stiffened. A low growl started in his throat, shaking his whole body and making his ears stand on end.  
"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, looking for the source of Pluto's discomfort. She found it further down the street, in the form of a little black creature. It looked vaguely humanoid, but with odd feelers sticking out of its head. Kairi recognized it immediately. A heartless.

"Shit," she breathed.

The things seemed to have noticed her, because it was now scurrying down the line of houses as fast as its spindly legs could carry it. It seemed strangely insubstantial, as if it was made of nothing but thick fog. But those talons looked real enough.

Kairi didn't know what to do. She couldn't fight it; the only person she knew who could was Sora. And he wasn't here. So she did the only the she could do. She turned and ran, back toward the train, Pluto barreling along at her heels.

"What the..?"

Kairi skidded to a halt. The train was gone. There was no indication that anything had been there besides the unrelieved line of ramshackle houses, not even tracks. She turned back to the heartless. It was still coming, and it had been joined by three of its fellows. They stalked her like prey, their staring yellow eyes never moving from their target.

She fought back a yell. Had she really come all this way, just to be eaten by a creature of the darkness? It didn't seem fair, any of it. It was all that damn Axel's fault, all his…

"Are you going to fight them, or are you just going to stand there?"

Kairi jumped. Someone had appeared in the shadows between two equally decrepit houses. He stepped out into the light, raising a brilliantly etched sword. The heartless hissed, turning to the man instead. He just scowled, brushing the dark hair out of his eyes.

The creatures pounced, all at once. Kairi screamed, but the man just calmly swung his sword. It hacked through the heartless like they were butter. The horrible little things didn't seem to have any survival instincts at all. Even after watching their fellows being shredded, they continued to launch themselves at him like kamikazes. It only took a few seconds for the street to be completely heartless-free.

The man sheathed his sword. He sighed heavily and turned to Kairi. "You want to be more careful. You might end up dead." He turned, trudging back to the lane separating the two dark houses.

"Wait!" Kairi called. Pluto barked in agreement.

The man gave no acknowledgement, but he slowed his pace slightly. Kairi followed him up the narrow alley, across a bridge spanning a dry canal, and up a set of stone steps. The more she saw of this silent stone town, the more she felt like she had been here before. It was more like déjà vu than anything; like she had walked these streets in a previous life.

The house the man stopped at didn't look much different from the rest of herd. Smallish, dark, and in its death throes. He opened the rotting wooden door, disappearing into the dim interior. Kairi hesitated for a moment, then followed. She gave her eyes a moment to adjust. When she could finally make out something other than nothing, Kairi found there was someone barely two feet in front of her. She squeaked, skipping backwards and almost tripping over Pluto.

The girl standing before her raised an eyebrow. "She's a little young for you, Squall."

The dark-haired man grunted. "My name is Leon. Get it right for once."

The girl laughed. She was small and her hair was cut like a boy's. Her body looked rather fragile, but there was something about her eyes that suggested looks might be deceiving.

"Uh, hi," Kairi said tentatively. "I'm…"

"Finally!"

The cry came from the corner. There was a man there, seated in front of a massive computer. Kairi hadn't noticed him at first. Never-ending lines of code filled each and every screen, and he was typing furiously, as though trying to win some kind of race. His clothes were rather old and tattered looking and kind of sailor-ish.

"Did you get somewhere, Cid?" the girl asked, turning to the computer.

Cid didn't answer, just continued to type. All three of the stranger's attentions were now completely focused on the computer screens. Not knowing what else to do, Kairi stared as well. About a minute went by, when Cid suddenly slammed his fist down on the keyboard.

"God fucking dammit to hell and back again on a deranged chocobo!"

Leon and the girl let out a collective sigh.

"What happened?" Kairi asked, looking from one to the other. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the girl answered. "It's just Mr. Hacker is having a little trouble. By the way, who are you?"

"Kairi. And you?"

The girl struck a pose, hands on her hips. "I'm the great ninja Yuffie!"

"Uh, okay." Kairi gave a weak smile.

"And Mr. Charming over there is Leon." Yuffie shrugged a shoulder toward the man who had led Kairi inside. "Don't let the dark and sexy act fool you. He'd really just kind of annoying."

"Look who's talking," Leon said, without turning around. He seemed very intent on the cup of coffee he was currently adding sugar to.

"Who are you guys?" Kairi asked.

Yuffie sat down at the lopsided kitchen table, motioning for her to do the same. "We call ourselves the Restoration Committee. But right now we're just trying to find a way to break into Lord Ansem's files."

"Lord Ansem?" Why did that name sound so familiar?

"He used to rule this world," Yuffie explained, "Until the heartless came."

Kairi felt her heart rate beginning to speed up. "The heartless? You guys are fighting them too?"

"Too?" Cid repeated, turning around, his tone incredulous. "Who else have you met who's fighting them?"

"Damn, sorry, Sailor guy. Didn't mean to piss you off." Kairi could feel her mood going south.

"Sailor guy? That's _Pilot _guy to you, sweetheart."

_Why does everyone keep calling me that? _"Sorry. You look like a sailor."

"Let's pause in this riveting conversation, shall we?" Leon had finished with his coffee. "What I would like to know is what someone like you is doing Hollow Bastion. You're not from this world, are you?"

Kairi blinked. "No. How could you tell?"

Yuffie chuckled. "It's not hard to see. For one, you're outside in the evening. That's when the heartless come out in force. Everyone who lives here knows that."

Kairi turned back to Leon. "I'm looking for someone."

He looked confused for a moment, but then he smiled. "I think I understand." His voice was soft and almost timid. Sexy, like Yuffie had mentioned.

"Ah, splendid!" The voice came from back in the house. "It's good to have you back, young ma—,"

An old man had emerged from the other room, but he stopped short at the sight of Kairi. Everything about him screamed sorcerer, from his pointed hat to his long blue robes and slightly bemused expression. His brow furrowed, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his grizzled hair.

"Is something wrong, Merlin?" Yuffie asked.

The wizard scratched his head, looking from Kairi to the rest of them. "I thought for sure…I mean…I thought I felt…"

"Sora." Leon set down his coffee mug. "You thought she was Sora."

Merlin nodded. "Precisely. I thought I sensed his essence."

"Do you think it's a glamour?" Yuffie asked. She had suddenly stood up and was now backing slowly away from the table.

"She's a little too pretty to be Soar, don't ya'll think?" Cid commented.

"Hey!" Kairi's temper had snapped. "Somebody explain to me what the hell is going on!"

Everyone fell silent. They all looked rather befuddled.

"Well, that's definitely not a very Sora-like thing to say," Yuffie said finally.

"Most certainly not," Merlin agreed. Kairi opened her mouth, but the wizard held up a hand. "Before you start shouting again, Miss, please allow me to explain our situation. Sora—you know him, do you not?" Kairi nodded. "I thought so. He—Sora, I mean—has a very unique feeling to him, a unique aura, if you will. The power of his heart is easily discernable from a distance."

Kairi was beginning to catch on. "So you're saying…"

"Your hearts are identical. Or at least they seem to be. If we closed our eyes, there would be no doubt Sora was standing here in our midst."

_Next Chapter: Why Nobody Likes a Beast_


	5. Why Nobody Likes a Beast

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement is bad. People get smited for it.

Author's Note: Apparently, people like the way I describe the characters. That's very much appreciated. Thank you.

Chapter 5

Why Nobody Likes a Beast

"I don't understand," An odd haze seemed to have descended on Kairi's brain. "Are you saying Sora and I are…are the same person?"

Merlin shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying at all, my dear. I am merely mentioning that you and he have extraordinarily similar hearts, so similar that it seems likely you would be able to wield the keyblade if opportunity arose…"

Leon started slightly at this, and the barest trace of anger flitted across his face.

"You mean that giant key thing Sora has?"

"Precisely," Merlin answered, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "The keyblade chooses a master and will only allow that person to use its powers."

Yuffie had sat back down at the table, evidently convinced that Kairi wasn't about to rip their throats out. "Yeah, and the keyblade chose Sora." She giggled.

"What's funny?" Kairi wasn't in a particularly amused mood.

"Oh, nothing really. It's just that, the first time we met Sora…we had to explain the same things to him. Me and Leon, I mean."

Suddenly, Kairi was hit by another blast of déjà vu, much stronger this time. "Have I met you all before?" she asked, without thinking about it.

Yuffie opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say no, of course not, but she paused. "I—I don't think so…" She didn't sound so sure.

"It's very possible," Merlin interjected.

"What?" Yuffie stared at him wildly. "Believe me, I would remember someone like her."

"Hey!" Kairi piped up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up both of you. Let Merlin talk." Leon was glaring, looking immeasurably scary.

"Thank you, Leon." Merlin narrowed her eyes, letting them focus in on Kairi. They were the only part of him that didn't seem old. "Now, all of you stop and think for a moment. You recall, don't you, that period of about two years when we forgot all about Sora? It's quite possible—even probable, seeing as how she seems so tied into all of this—that we forgot Kairi as well."

"So you're saying…" Kairi began, feeling a little overwhelmed, "That I might have been here before?"

Merlin nodded. The room was silent for a moment while everyone present attempted to remember. Leon simply look introspective, Yuffie looked annoyed, and Cid looked pained, as though thinking wasn't something he did very often. Not wanting him to strain something, Kairi spoke up.

"Okay, so we know each other. Fabulous. But I don't remember any of you, so I'm just gonna act like I'm new to this little…club." To herself Kairi said, _damn, I really am becoming Miss Cynical. Well, that's fine. I'm sick of being the sweet little heroine. I'm gonna find Sora even if I have to get dirty to do it._

"So what now?" Yuffie asked.

"I need to find Sora," Kairi answered without hesitation.

Leon turned his moody glance on her. "That might be more difficult than you think. Sora's on a mission. He's fighting the heartless and the nobodies. He's also world-hopping quite often. We have no idea where he could be."

"Oh." Kairi felt disappointment weigh down on her like a cement block. To distract herself more than anything else, she asked, "What are nobodies?"

Yuffie and Leon glanced at each other. "They're what's left when someone becomes a heartless." Leon clenched a fist. "Usually they just become little white creatures—."

"They're flippin' creepy," Yuffie chimed in.

"Yeah. But someone with a particularly strong soul's nobody can manifest into human form, just like someone with a particularly strong heart's heartless can. There is a group if these humanoid nobodies called—."

"Organization 13," Kairi finished for him.

Leon nodded. "Yes. How did you know that?"

Kairi shrugged, trying to keep her voice casual. "I don't know. Must'ave just picked it up somewhere." Leon seemed satisfied with the answer.

Kairi stared down at the stained tablecloth. She had no idea why she hadn't mentioned Axel. He wanted to kidnap her, he was the reason she had been thrown into this crazy mess. But something had stopped her from revealing her sources. If these people, the Restoration Committee, thought she was a liability, like she might be used as some trap for Sora, they might do something to her. Something unpleasant, like tossing her off a cliff.

Sighing, she stood up, intent on seeing if there was any more coffee in the pot. She took a step and suddenly found herself engulfed by cold. The ramshackle living room was gone, replaced by the swirling darkness she had unfortunately become so familiar with. A moment later, she was standing once again in that swirling tunnel of nothingness. The Realm.

"Welcome back, baby."

Axel was standing several feet in front of her, arms folded, that obnoxious smirk plastered on his face. Kairi knew she should be afraid, but instead she just felt slightly inconvenienced .

"God, don't you have anything better to do?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"Nope. Sorry, babe, you're my mission."

"Oh, so it's 'babe' now?" Kairi asked, disgusted. "What happened to sweetheart?"

Axel shrugged, his expression rather listless, as though he didn't really care about anything she asked. "I decided that you're attractive enough to be known as babe." he answered airily.

"Great. I'm so glad I pass your test." Kairi should have been creeped out, but she wasn't. Once again, she was just annoyed.

"You should be. Now, please allow me to escort you back to—."

"I'm not letting you escort me anywhere!" Kairi said forcefully. "I'm not gonna be your goddamn bait! Sora would never fall for that, anyway."

Axel laughed. "What? You think Sora's smart enough not to be enticed by a pretty girl?"

Kairi glared, feeling a sudden need to defend her friend. "That's not what I meant, but Sora's not like that, either."

"Gimme a break, my sweet, naïve thing," Axel chuckled. "Sora's a guy. A sixteen-year-old guy. He's as bad as the rest of us. Just 'cause he's the King's shiny new hero doesn't mean he's not a perv. All guys are, got it memorized?"

"You're an asshole."

"You're right," Axel agreed, "I am. And you're a hostage."

Before Kairi could blinked, he had raised his hands above his head, darkness swirling around them. It flew from his palms, wrapping her in its cold embrace. The last thing she saw was Axel leaning down to admire his handiwork, before her world turned black.

* * *

When she awoke everything was dark, but it wasn't the bottomless dark of the Realm. It was natural, almost comforting darkness of night. From where she was lying she could see the sky, strewn with more stars than she had ever seen. For a moment, she wondered why the sky had been reduced to a tiny rectangle, but then she realized she was looking at it through a window.

Kairi sat up, a blanket falling off her. Whoever had laid her to rest in this huge bed hadn't even bothered to remove her shoes. Shakily, she slid to the floor. She seemed to be in a bedroom, and quite a large one at that. She was just about to set off in search of a way out, when a door opened and a tiny light floated inside.

_It's a fairy, _Kairi thought idiotically. It was obviously not a fairy, it was someone arriving with a candle.

"How are you feeling?" The someone was female, and from the small glow the candle created Kairi could make out dark hair and a kind face.

"I'm okay," she answered, not sure whether it was true or not. She felt fine physically, but her mind was reeling. Apparently, whatever Axel had tried to do hadn't worked, for she was neither in a dungeon nor tied up. She had gotten away again.

"That's good to hear." The woman continued past Kairi and proceeded to light several more candles, placing them strategically through the room until they formed a sphere of warmth and light. "For awhile there I was worried you wouldn't wake up." She lit the last candle and smiled. "I'm Belle."

"Kairi."

"That's a pretty name. I've never heard it before." Belle's smile was warm and inviting, but there was something else behind it, like a sadness that would never really go away.

"How did I get here?" Kairi asked. The last thing she remembered was Axel flinging that gluttonous darkness her way.

Belle crossed to the window. "You were found in the back courtyard. You were unconscious."

Kairi gasped, suddenly remembering something. "There wasn't a…there wasn't a dog with me, was there?"

Belle shook her head. "No. I'm sorry."

Kairi sighed. He hadn't been hers anyway. Still, she would miss the reassuring presence at her knee.

Belle turned back from the window. "The master will want to meet you, now that you're awake."

"Great…" Kairi shifted uncomfortably. Nobody who was known as 'the master' was ever good news. "Where do I go?"

* * *

The castle was old. Every time the wind blew the walls groaned, drafts creeping in through the crumbling bricks. At one point it had been grand, and in part it still was, but the master of the house had allowed it to fall into such disrepair that from a distance the place looked abandoned. It was huge, but only a handful of the rooms were ever used.

It gave Kairi the creeps. The very air seemed to be charged with something intense and frightening. Belle led her down the east stairs, pausing in front of a pair of massive double doors, so tall the top was wreathed in the gloom of the front hall.

"Um…there's a few things I need to tell you before you…" She swallowed nervously. Kairi wondered what terror these doors could hold. "The master is currently…moody. Be polite and don't meet his eyes. He hates that," she added sorrowfully.

"Uh, okay," Kairi answered weakly.

Belle pushed on the doors. They swung slowly open, creaking like they were in pain. What lay beyond was a magnificent ballroom, or what once had been a magnificent ballroom. At one point the crystal chandelier must have been lit and shining, the tapestries and garlands would have been aired and flawless, and the mahogany floor would have been waxed. Now it was simply sad and neglected.

Kairi and Belle descended the steps to the dance floor. There were footprints in the dust, leading way toward the end of the hall. Kairi's eyes widened. No, not footprints. _Paw prints. _Huge and clawed, though whatever animal had made them walked on two legs.

Belle didn't even glance at them, just set off across the floor. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were hooded. She didn't look scared, just kind of…sad.

"Master…"

Suddenly Kairi could make out a huge shape, standing in front of the broken window at the end of the hall. It turned and she got the impression of a hulking monster, shaggy-furred and fiery-eyed. It stared at Belle for a few moments. Then it spoke, its voice little more than a rumbling growl.

"Yes?"

Belle stared at the floor, though Kairi could see her fists had clenched. "The girl that was found in the garden…this is her." She looked up suddenly. "Beast, you have to tell me—."

"Quiet Belle," the master ordered.

Belle stamped her foot angrily, sending up a little puff of dust. "Beast, you have to stop doing this! Why won't you talk to me? You're just being a—."

"Silence!" He lunged forward, clutching Belle's thin frame in one of his giant paws. Kairi screamed, but Belle just stared at him levelly, a rebellious glint in her eyes.

"I don't see why you have to be so mean all the time!" she spat. He let go of her, surprised. She spun on the spot, walking away huffily and leaving Kairi alone with the Beast, who turned back to the window gloomily.

Kairi was confused. At first it had seemed like Belle was afraid of her master, like she was some kind of slave. But this…this was more like a lover's spat than anything else. And sure enough, the Beast's head was hanging, his shoulders were drooping. He seemed depressed.

"I don't know why I let her get to me," he muttered, and Kairi suspected he was talking to himself rather than her. But then he turned, his eyes glinting slightly in the dark. "I know you, don't I?"

"What?" Kairi asked, taken aback. "I don't think so."

"No," the Beast protested, shaking his great head, "I do know you. Kairi, that was it."

Kairi gasped. "How the hell do you know that?"

"I met you, around two years ago." He paused, evidently waiting for her to say something. When she didn't he went on. "It was in another world…Hollow Bastion, it was called. I was looking for Belle. Instead I met a boy named Sora, who was looking for you."

Kairi felt a rush of excitement. "Sora? You know him, too?"

"Yes. I saw him recently."

"You did? He came here?"

"Yes. But he's gone. You're about a month late."

_Next Chapter: Brand New Clothes_


	6. Brand New Clothes

Disclaimer: Yes, this all belongs to me. Totally. I made all of it up, all of it. sarcasm

Chapter 6

Brand New Clothes

Kairi didn't sleep well that night. In fact, she didn't sleep at all.

It wasn't that she was uncomfortable; the Beast had allowed her to stay in one of the rooms on the eastern wing, down the hall from Belle. The bed she was in was soft, warm, and fully competent, but she just couldn't get her mind to settle down. It was moving at top speed, completely independent of her exhausted body.

There was too much to think about, that was all. She had missed Sora again. This journey wasn't going as well as she had planned and Kairi was beginning to get depressed. It seemed that everywhere she showed up, he was one step ahead. Two years ago, when Sora had saved her from Hollow Bastion, he had made it all seem so easy. Charging in, killing the bad guys, and putting the world right again.

It wasn't that easy at all.

What pissed Kairi of the most, however, was the fact that she hadn't really done anything yet. So why was she so frustrated? Did she expect it to be easy?

"Dammit. I hate my life."

"Then why are you so fucking intent upon making mine so hard?"

Kairi barely flinched this time. "What the hell do you want now?"

Axel hopped down from where he'd been lounging on the dresser. "You know what I want. It hasn't changed much."

"I'm not coming with you!" Kairi yelled it so loudly she wouldn't be surprised if she'd roused the entire castle.

"Calm the hell down," Axel said, all patience leaving his voice. "You have to come if I'm going to do my job, and I _always_ do my job. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if—."

"No you won't," Kairi said blankly. "If you thought you could hurt me, you would have done it from the beginning. You can't hurt me anymore than you can force me through one of those dark, swirly thingies."

The muscles in Axel's neck worked violently, and for a moment she thought she'd overdone it. But he let out his breath in a frustrated hiss, sitting down on the lacy little stool in front of the dresser.

"No, you do kinda have this weird resistance thing going on, almost like—." He broke off. "So what are we going to do now, Kairi?"

"_We_?"

"I have a problem because you won't come with me, and you have a problem because you can't find Sora to warn him that I need you to come with me to make him come to us, and at the same time what I really want is him, and not you, but that's just the way things played out."

Kairi stared. "Uh, I think that made the kind of sense that's…not."

Axel narrowed his eyes. "And that sentence did?"

"Oh, forget it. Just get out."

She turned away, pulling the covers up to her ears. A few moments later she took a peek over her shoulder. Axel was still there, sitting on that ridiculous stool. "Was there something else?"

Axel glanced at the ground. "Please?"

"What?"

"Please," he said, his expression utterly blank, "Please, will you _please _come with me?"

Kairi was at a loss for words (something that didn't occur too often). Was this freak actually begging her to let him kidnap her?

"Do you really think that's gonna work?" she demanded. "Do you think you can get me to pity you?"

Axel leapt up from the stool, his face now full of nothing but fury. "I won't have everything we've worked for destroyed by one little girl! We're…we're so close." He rubbed is his eyes, as though suddenly very tired. "I've already lost the only person I've ever cared about in this fight, and I'm not giving it up."

"Well, then we have something in common," Kairi said quietly. "I'm _never _giving up until I find him." If she could have seen herself at that moment, she would have shocked to find she wasn't looking at the child that had played in the coves and beaches of the Destiny Islands. She was a warrior, a beautiful, fiery-eyed warrior.

Or at least that's what Axel saw.

He sighed. "Well then, I guess we can't count on each other backing down." He was clutching her bedpost, his knuckles turning white.

Kairi nodded.

"I won't ever back down," she whispered shakily.

"It's a deal then" Axel suddenly leaned forward, closing the distance between them to only a few inches.

Kairi jerked backwards. "What the hell are you doing?"

Axel blinked. He stepped back, just as a portal of darkness appeared and swept him away.

Kairi fell back into bed, suddenly exhausted. Finally, she was able to fall asleep, but she had odd dreams. In one of them she saw Sora. He and his friends were lying around a campfire in the middle of a green field. There was a dark-haired girl beside Sora, and they were laughing together.

Her other dream was off another visitor to her room. An old man. For a moment, she thought it was Merlin, but when she caught sight of his face she saw it was darker, the eyes crueler. She sat up in bed, watching him cross to her closet, stepping inside. He never came out again, and Kairi found the dream slipping into another.

She woke the next morning almost as tired as she had been the night before.

_And no wonder, _she thought as got out of bed, _it wasn't exactly a relaxing evening. _

It had been filled with a depressing talk with the Beast, a disconcerting visit from Axel, and a load of unsettling dreams. Kairi checked her appearance in the mirror. Her dress was crumpled (she had been wearing it for three days now) and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"God dammit," she muttered, but was then greatly heartened to find a bathroom with a fairly modern shower adjacent to her room. She turned the water on very hot and stood there for about half an hour, letting the grime of three different worlds run off her skin and down the drain. Afterwards she spent about ten more minutes coaxing the tangles out of her hair with a comb she found on the dresser.

She then turned to her dress and grimaced. True, it was the only thing she had, but it was so fricking _disgusting. _It was covered in sweat and dirt, and there was a pretty hefty rip on the right sleeve. She was about to suck it up and put it on, when she happened to glance toward the closet.

Maybe there was something in there she could borrow…

Kairi gripped the gold handles, pulling open the surprisingly heavy doors. A depressingly empty rack greeted her. There was only one thing in there. Kairi blinked in confusion, reaching for it. The moment her fingertips brushed the material she felt a surge of power, like an electric shock.

She drew the clothing out and put it on carefully, still feeling that constant flow of power. The clothes consisted of a pair of tight black pants that went down just past her knees and had pink straps that criss-crossed behind. The top was odder still. It was blue and black, the sleeves different lengths. All of it fit perfectly.

Kairi surveyed the entire effect in the mirror. She didn't look like herself, that was for sure. Still, they were clothes, and they looked good on her. She was just about to turn and head out into the hall, when she noticed a pair of black gauntlet-like things lying on the bed. They fit as well, covering her hands from the knuckles to a little past her wrists.

"Hey," she said, flexing her fingers. "Cool."

* * *

She met Belle in the dining hall for breakfast where the two of them were served by a hopping, talking candelabra.

"I am happy to welcome you to our humble home," it told Kairi in a heavy accent. "Please be our guest!"

She decided not to ask.

"I have to tell you, these are some pretty groovy clothes you guys gave me," she commented between bites of cinnamon roll.

Belle's eyes traveled over her odd outfit. "I didn't leave those for you. I've never seen anything like them."

"Really?" Kairi asked, slightly unsettled. The clothes were awesome, but she didn't want to wear them if there was a chance they'd go crazy and start trying to choke her to death. What if they had been left by Axel…?

"Do you have to leave today?" Belle asked her, jerking her out of her reverie.

"I wish I could," Kairi said moodily, "But I don't really know how. I've gotten to every other world by accident, like I was in the right place at the right time."

Belle smiled encouragingly. "Well, maybe you'll be in the right place again soon."

After breakfast, the two girls decided to take a walk through the grounds. Kairi still wasn't sure why Belle lived with the Beast, but she didn't seem to be a servant and she had a free run of the castle and an entire herd of talking appliances and furniture to wait on her.

"Don't you ever get lonely here?" Kairi asked, as they crossed the front hall.

Belle smiled in response. "No, not really. It's usually quite nice when…"

"The Beast isn't being a complete asshole?"

Belle nodded mournfully. "He's just in a mood."

"You really like him, don't you?"

It was incredible. Belle's face seemed to visibly light up. "Of course I do! I wish I could do something for him. He's under that horrible sp-."

"Do you hear that?" Kairi asked, holding up her hand.

A shuffling sound. Like hundreds of tiny feet.

"Crap," Kairi said.

_Next Chapter: A Pirate's Life for Me_


	7. A Pirate's Life for Me

Disclaimer: I don't have anything interesting to say…yeah. I don't own Kingdom Hearts…I own your mom.

Author's Note: Yeah, this chapter is a little short. There was a complete lack of inspiration going on, but it turned out okay. R and R everyone!

Chapter 7

A Pirate's Life for Me

* * *

"No. Not here!" Belle moaned. "I thought your friend got rid of them!"

"I thought so too," Kairi muttered, her eyes locked on the end of the hall. There were four little shadows there, skittering along the carpet. The only sound they made were these horrible guttural squelches. A pretty ugly language, if you asked her. She was sure they would multiply; Heartless had an unfortunate tendency of doing that.

Every sense she had was telling her to turn and run, but Kairi stood her ground. However stupid an idea it may have been, she knew she had to face these things eventually. If she had to count on someone else to defend her every single time, she would never find Sora.

"Belle, run," she ordered.

Belle hesitated. "What about you?"

"I'll be okay. Just go."

"I'll get the Beast!" Belle said, turning and fleeing back up the grand staircase.

The four Heartless had become six, and they were no longer those shifty little shadows. They had become more substantial, their coloring more potent. Kairi took a deep breath. She had no idea what she was going to do, but whatever it was, she would do it on her own.

She wasn't waiting for the Beast. And neither were the Heartless.

As a group, they leapt at her, claws extended and teeth bared. Almost unconsciously, Kairi lashed out with her hands. The foremost heartless was shredded instantly.

"What..?"

Blades had appeared on her hands, extending from the back of the gloves. Before she had time to think about it, she was whipping her arms around her head, shredding the Heartless left and right. It was almost like someone else was controlling her body. The creatures shrieked, their bodies torn into hundreds of seething pieces. These things didn't bleed. They didn't have veins or organs or skin. They probably didn't even breathe.

The last Heartless eradicated, Kairi sunk to her knees. Her lungs were trying to force oxygen to her startled mind, but it didn't seem to be working. She was unable to comprehend what had just happened. She wasn't dead!

Had Kairi really just killed something? Lots of somethings? It didn't seem possible, timid, girly little Kairi. A killer. A hunter. She jumped a little as the blades retracted back into the gloves. Shakily, she rose to her feet once again.

Suddenly, she began to laugh. "Ha! That'll teach you, little bastards! No way you're gonna…aww, shit."

Her words of victory were drowned out by the sudden (though not completely unexpected) apparition of yet another gate. The darkness swirled around her, clutching at her, heart and soul. All euphoria from the fight was quickly drained away as she began to drown once again in the suffocating _nothingness. _

It took an even shorter space of time this time around. The Realm only had her for a few seconds, and before she knew it Kairi was sitting up and glancing around at her new surroundings.

It was night, and the sky overhead was filled with stars beyond number. Kairi picked out without difficulty what seemed to be a couple constellations, but they weren't any she was familiar with. This made sense, of course. If every new world was in a different spot in the universe, it stood to reason that the stars would appear differently. She wondered how far away she was from home.

She seemed to have appeared on a dock of some sort. Several creaking ships were tied up to the jetty, riding a gentle swell up and down. The pier was lined with a number of buildings, made of brick and mildew-stained wood. Most of them were dark, but there was one large one in particular from which an assortment of raucous shouts were issuing.

Kairi smiled, facing the ocean. It was good to be back by the sea; it made her feel a little more at home. Of course, the drunken shouts didn't fit, and Kairi turned as they became more insistent. The door of the pub (for that was surely what it was) had opened, casting a rectangular glow of wavering light on the cobblestones. The silhouettes of two grappling figures appeared in the doorway, one of them towering over the other. The smaller one was shoved through roughly, the door slamming behind him.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked, taking a few tentative steps forward. The body splayed on the ground raised its head.

"Aye," he grunted. His voice, though fairly young, was rough and rather slurred.

"Do you need help?" Kairi asked.

He eyed her, shoving himself up to a standing position. "Not from the like 'o you, tha's for certain." He was rather short, blond, and very dirty. His hands and face seemed to be covered in a layer of perpetual grime that Kairi doubted any amount of scrubbing could help.

"Sorry, I was just offering," Kairi snapped moodily.

The boy looked at her again, his eyes glazed over with drink. He grinned, revealing very yellow teeth. "Well now, if yer tha' insistent." He took a step forward, but his legs refused to take his weight and he toppled forward, groping at Kairi's shoulder for support.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Uhh…sure," Kairi said uncomfortably. The boy was now leaning on her like she was a post. He smelled as dirty as he looked. His clothing was stained and ripped and consisted of colors and fabrics that did absolutely everything but match. "Where…uh…do you live?"

The boy jerked his head in a direction further up the jetty, but Kairi wasn't sure if he was answering her question or just experiencing an abrupt seizure.

Kairi half assisted, half dragged him down the pier, passing several silent ships until the boy pulled himself away. He had stopped in front of the most ragged, bashed-up vessel Kairi had ever seen in her life. The rigging was hanging off the masts, the deck needed an intensive scrubbing, and the black sails were riddled with infinite holes. There was a single light coming from the bridge, and this boy stumbled toward, hanging onto everything in reach for support. Not knowing what else to do, Kairi followed.

Before the boy could reach it, the cabin door sprang open and a man paced out. He was wearing a big tricorn hat and an old stained jacket over clothes that were just as mismatched as Kairi's new drunk best friend. But, as opposed to the boy she had dragged to the ship, this man had a small beard and dark hair falling to mid-back. And though he didn't seem to be drunk, he swayed a bit when he was walking, as if he were on the high seas during a storm.

"Jimmy!" he called. "Do you have any notion of what night it is?" His voice was tinged with a casual drawl, as though nothing he was saying was very important, and he didn't care if you listened. But nevertheless, Kairi got the impression it was a voice you would do well to pay attention to.

The boy-Jimmy- grunted, falling into a sloppy salute. "Wha's tha', Cap'n?"

"I said, do you have any idea what this wonderful night is?"

Jimmy shook his head.

"Why lad," the man said, "It is the night of your watch! Now tell me, what would you be do'in taking leave on a night such as this?"

Jimmy seemed to be trying very hard to focus. "Oh, Cap'n…I though' last nigh' was me watch."

The man nodded. "Aye, last night was your watch indeed. But, if you recall correctly, you were unable to attend said watch, so we decided that tomorrow night would be your watch, and it just so happens that tomorrow night is today."

Jimmy scowled in confusion. "Get along with ya!" He scurried into the cabin.

Kairi and the man were now alone on the deck. "Don't mind the lad, Miss, his head's as thick as a deck plank and twice as ugly." He bowed regally. "The name's Captain Jack Sparrow."

"I'm Kairi," Kairi said, offering a hand to shake. Captain Jack Sparrow, however, took it and kissed it, saying, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Yeah, you too," Kairi agreed.

_What the hell am I getting myself into now?_


	8. Fevered Daydreams

Disclaimer: I darest not lay claim to Kingdom Hearts. It belongeth to Square Enix.

Author's Note: The beginning of this chapter is just me having way too much fun. I guess I'm as bad a sadist as Sai'x.

Sorry this chapter is so short. I'm going on vacation in two days and I wanna get it up before I leave.

Chapter 8

Fevered Daydreams

Feeling powerless is one of the strongest emotions in existence.

Being stripped of all means to defend oneself is the most primal fear of the human creature. On the one hand, there is nothing more terrifying.

On the other, there is nothing more exhilarating.

Human beings thrive off fear. They use it as a reason to fight on. It shapes them into what they are. The only thing stronger than the fear of fear itself, is the fear of pain.

And pain was what Sai'x lived. Fear was what he breathed.

The door banged against the wall as he opened it. He had pulled on his gloves. No need to get his hands dirty. The room was devoid of any source of illumination save for the weak moonlight creeping through the tiny window. Chains hung from the ceiling, and attached to them was a man, naked to the waist and seated on the ground. He looked up as Sai'x entered.

"No," he groaned. "Anybody but you."

Sai'x smirked. There was genuine fear in the man's voice. "Now, now, Axel. Lord Xemnas knows what good friends you and I are. Besides, you wouldn't be in this position if you had only done what he'd asked."

"I'm not justifying myself to you," Axel spat. "I've already explained everything to Xemnas."

"Yes, and he's been very understanding, has he not?" Sai'x asked, closing the door behind him and crossing to a table pushed against the wall. "Honestly, not being able to kidnap a little girl. Myself, I probably would have killed you in punishment." He turned, holding up a silver knife. "But then again, that would be no fun, would it?"

Axel just growled. There was sweat standing out on his face and his eyes were radiating dread.

"Well, shall we begin?" Sai'x inquired. He walked over to Axel, who lashed out with his feet. Sai'x jumped aside. "No need to make things worse on yourself." He jerked on Axel's chains, shortening them so his hands were now raised over his head. "Feel free to scream if you wish."

"Fuck that. There's no way I'm giving you that satisfaction, you fucking sadist."

"We'll see, won't we?" The knife was a flash of silver in his hand as Sai'x slashed him across the stomach. It was a shallow cut, but Axel felt it. He took his breath in sharply, but apart from that he didn't make a sound.

Well, Sai'x would change that.

He walked behind the man, drawing a line of blood from his naval to his lower back. A bit more pressure was exerted on the knife this time, and Axel twitched, the muscles in his back recoiling against the pain.

"You know, you don't have to be brave," Sai'x muttered in his ear. "I can make this last for hours if you force me to."

Axel gritted his teeth. "What do you want, Sai'x? You want me to beg for mercy?"

The pale skin on Axel's back was becoming a criss-cross of red lines. "Yes. That would be a decent start."

Axel laughed softly. "Come on, Sai'x. If you want me that bad there are better ways to do it. I don't usually go for men, but I'm sure we could work something out—."

Sai'x hit him across the mouth. "Shut up." Axel's eyes were clouded with pain, but there was that same old rebellious glint in them. He wanted to drive that glint out. Grabbing Axel by chin, he forced him look up.

"You don't know, do you?" he asked, "What they plan on doing to that poor little girl from the island?"

"Get off my face." The order was so forceful Sai'x found himself obeying by instinct. He had sounded so much like Lord Xemnas suddenly.

A cough racked Axel's body. "Yes, I do know what they're gonna do to her, you miserable excuse for a sentient being. They're gonna use her as bait for Sora."

"Correct," Sai'x said, laying the knife down and choosing a long, thin strip of leather instead. "But do you know why we need Sora?"

Axel tried to shrug, but then realized he was tied up, so his shoulders just spasmed in pain. "Xemnas probably wants his heart."

"Exactly. He cracked his whip, catching Axel across the back. The redhead ground his teeth but didn't cry out. "But you know, they'll take that girl's heart too." He leaned in close. "After they've let me have my turn with her."

Axel let loose with a string of obscenities, his mind suddenly boiling over with rage. He wanted to tear this freak apart, rip him limb from limb.

"There is no way I'm letting you touch her!" he yelled, rattling his chains. "I'll die first!"

Sai'x grinned. "If that's what you want…"

* * *

Two hours later Axel was dragged from the torture room and dumped in his chambers. He was dizzy with pain and he could still feel the warm blood oozing down his back. Now that Sai'x was nowhere nearby, he allowed himself to acknowledge it.

But overwhelming that pain was something else. Anger, red hot and coursing through Axel's veins like poison. He had no doubt Organization 13 would find Kairi eventually, with his cooperation or without. He had to find her before that happened.

But would she even accept his help?

He must have drifted into a fitful doze, because a few moments later he was no longer alone. Someone had sat down on the bed beside him. Someone who smelled like a fresh wind over the sea. He knew that smell. Raising his head, he felt cool hands descend on his sweaty brow.

"God, what did they do to you?"

"Nothing you won't cure," he muttered. Kairi frowned in concern and he collapsed into her arms. She held him close and kissed his forehead, his eyes, his neck. Finally, her lips found his and he kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone in his life.

He awoke suddenly, finding himself alone and suddenly a lot more miserable than he had ever thought possible.


	9. Nowhere to Run

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but one of my best friends is named after a form of undersea vegetation. So there.

Do you know what's better than sex? Lots and lots of reviews. Hint, hint.

Chapter 9

Nowhere to Run

When Kairi awoke the next morning, the sun was shining on the blue-green water. She had spent the night curled up in a corner of Captain Jack Sparrow's forward cabin, and to tell the truth she hadn't gotten much sleep. Co-existing on a ship with a bunch of sexually-deprived pirates could do that to a girl. (At least she assumed they were sexually deprived.) They weren't the most appetizing bunch.

That, of course, excluded Jack. He may have been dirty, scraggly, and unrefined, but he had to be one of the most charismatic men Kairi had ever met.

He sauntered into the room shortly after the sun had risen, still moving about like he was slightly inebriated. Kairi had the feeling this was a chronic ailment.

"Morning, love," he greeted her, seating himself at his table and putting his feet up. "I trust you've spent a restful night on the Black Pearl?"

"Uh, yeah. Real restful," Kairi drawled, trying to beat the wrinkles out of her shirt. She hadn't taken her gauntlets off all night, wanting her only weapon to be ready at all times. Then again, she had no idea how to make the blades appear. She had a shrewd suspicion they only reacted to heartless, a bit like Sora's keyblade.

"Splendid," Jack said, reaching for a bowl of apples in the center of the table. He bit into a big green one. He chewed for a few seconds, made a face, and tossed it over his shoulder. "Rotten, all bloody rotten. We'll have to acquire some more the next time we put into port."

"Put into port?" Kairi repeated. She wheeled to face the grimy window looking out over the deck. The town she had arrived in the previous night was nowhere to be seen. By the looks of things, they were in open sea.

"Holy shit!" Kairi yelled, hyperventilating slightly. "Where the hell did the land go?"

"Out, I believe," Jack answered, folding his hands innocently. "But don't fret, I'm sure it'll be back in a few days."

Kairi felt the desperate need to kick something. Once again, everything had spun out of her control. "You bastard! You sailed away without letting me off!"

Jack kicked his feet slightly, nearly toppling himself from the chair. "You know what? You remind me of someone."

Kairi fought to control her temper. "Who?"

"A certain other fiery young lady, with a temper so scorching you're left quite hot afterwards." He paused, apparently to ponder this last statement. "Yes, you remind me of her. Add in a dress much too binding for you and a vendetta for your one true love, and you two would be nearly identical. In a manner of speaking."

"A vendetta for her one true love?" Kairi asked. "What's that mean?"

Jack looked amused. "She was searching for a young lad, a Will—,"

"I'm looking for someone too!" Kairi interrupted. "But this is so different! I have to chase Sora across the universe, not just across the world, and I—."

"Come again?" Jack interrupted, staring at her intently. "Did the name Sora just pass you lips, love?"

"Yeah," Kairi said cautiously, hardly daring to believe it. "Yeah, it did. Do you know him?"

Captain Jack stroked his mustache thoughtfully. He seemed to be putting on a big show of trying to remember. "Er…short fellow, so high…carting around a giant key…blonder than I am?"

"That's right!" Kairi exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "You do know him!"

"Oh yeah, the two of us are best mates. We go back, oh…a week at least."

Kairi's heart nearly stopped. "A week? He was here a week ago?"

"Aye, he helped me out of a tight spot or two. O' course, you just missed him. He left…err…couldn't have been more than three days ago."

The usual disappointment was settling in on Kairi. It was lessened, however, by the fact that she was only a few days behind this time. Maybe the next time the Realm of Darkness decided to suck her in and spit her out onto another world, she would actually get there ahead of Sora!

Almost as if the god of irony had read her thoughts, the familiar swirl of color was closed in on her. A few moments later she was no longer sitting across from a fiendishly handsome pirate, but standing in the Realm, face to face with a younger, though no less attractive, man.

"Kairi!" Axel exclaimed as soon as the mist had cleared. "Are you okay?"

Kairi's brows nit in confusion. This was certainly out of character. Knowing Axel, she would have suspected a cruel taunt or a jibe of triumph. Instead he was just looking at her with what might have been mistaken, in the wrong light, for concern.

Not to be fooled, she demanded, "What the fuck do you want now?"

Axel winced like she had slapped him. He was oddly haggard-looking, his eyes clouded by something he hadn't sported the last time they'd met.

"Listen," he said intently, taking half a step forward. "You're in a lot of trouble."

"You're telling me," Kairi snapped.

Axel shook his head. "Not from me. From the rest of the organization. They're on to you, and they're going to hurt you."

Kairi folded her arms. "And like you wouldn't?"

"No!" The response was so violent it even seemed to shock Axel. "No," he continued, quieter. "They're going to kill you…I don't want you to die, I…Wait!"

Kairi didn't want to listen to him. Almost without realizing it, she summoned up a door from the nothingness in the Realm. She sprinted toward it and found herself running through a forest of bamboo in the middle of the night. The sharp leaves tore at her as she flew by, scraping her face and arms. She didn't care. She was fully aware of Axel following her, and all she cared about was getting as much distance between herself and him.

She looked in front of her in time to see someone stepping into her path. She shrieked, digging her heels into the soft earth. The blades in her gauntlets slid out, but a moment later she was pinned to the ground, her arms uselessly at her sides.

"So this is she," her attacker breathed, his face very close to hers. "You're very beautiful." Kairi only saw a flurry of silver hair and cold eyes before a hand worked itself under her shirt and up her back.

"Get off my!" she screamed, trying to wrench herself away, but the man struck her across the face. He licked away the blood that formed on her lip.

"Hush," he ordered, sitting up. He was pale and gaunt, a large x marring his forehead. It took Kairi a moment to realize the marking was a scar.

"You're what the organization wants," he whispered, leaning down close to her. "Xemnas told me he wanted you alive, but he didn't say I couldn't take a piece of you myself." The man caressed Kairi's face with a heavy hand, moving his tongue along her collar bone and reaching under her shirt again.

_No, no, no! _Kairi's mind was screaming in fear but she couldn't get her lips to move.

But suddenly, miraculously, the man's weight was gone.

She sat up. Axel was standing over her, his eyes fixed on her attacker.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he growled, aiming a kick at the man's head. He moved just in time, scrambling to his feet, trying to adjust his long black coat.

"You're going to be sorry for this one, Axel," he spat. "Two hours of torture wasn't enough, I see. Well, I look forward to having you _both _next time." He waved his hand and a moment later he was gone in a rush of darkness.

Axel offered Kairi a hand. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Kairi shook her head, letting him pull her numbly to her feet.

"You're shaking," he observed, pulling her close to him. She didn't try to resist. She couldn't think, she couldn't feel. It was like her entire body had frozen over.

God, she had been so scared.

"Come on," Axel muttered. He drew up a portal, and a moment later they were no longer standing in the bamboo forest. There was suddenly the bite of autumn in the night air, and the only thing to be seen was a few scraggly trees and a few twinkling lights in the distance. Those and the little house they were standing in front of.

It was very small, probably containing no more than three rooms. Its shutters were drawn and there was no light coming from inside.

"Whose house is this?" Kairi asked, her voice very small.

"Mine." Axel took her by the hand and started forward. Kairi, dug her feet into the ground.

"I'm not going in there." Some of her sense seemed to be returning to her. This was Axel, for crying out loud. If anyone meant her harm, it was him.

"Kairi…" He sighed, aggravated. "Look. If I hadn't come along Sai'x would have done some really nasty things to you. Believe it. He's done them to me."

Kairi raised a critical eyebrow. "You mean he's—?"

"He's come close," Axel said, staring at the ground for a second. "But anyway. Organization 13 is looking for you. You'll be safe here."

"But you work for them!" Kairi protested. "You want to kidnap me!"

"Not anymore. I can't let them…" He trailed off miserably. "I can't let them hurt you."

Kairi didn't know what to say. This change of heart sure was startling, but she didn't seem to have much of a choice. Besides, she was still much too shaken to go anywhere on her own. And it was cold out here.

"Fine." She followed Axel into the house, warily. "Is this your home world?"

Axel shook his head. "I have a house here, but it's not where I come from. It's the only place I can go that the rest of the Organization doesn't know about. Yet," he added ominously.

Once inside, Axel walked across the room and began to toss logs onto an empty grate. A few minutes later, he had a small blaze going, filling the room with wavering light and a glow of warmth.

"There's no power source here," he explained, lighting several candles placed along the mantel and shelves. The combined lights revealed a small, tidy room. Two armchairs stood in front of the fire and a shaggy old rug lay across the floor. Axel gave Kairi a woolen blanket and told her to sit in front of the fire. This she did, curling up in one of the chairs.

She had to force herself to stay awake. As kind as he was being, she didn't trust Axel any farther than she could throw him. How was she to know that this wasn't just some elaborate scheme to get her to trust him? She wouldn't put it past him.

Axel emerged from the back room a few minutes later. He had shed his black leather coat and was now just dressed in a pair of faded jeans and open-necked shirt. Taking the seat opposite Kairi, he fixed her with his keen gaze.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Kairi nodded. "As good as can be expected."

Axel frowned. "You're all scratched up." He walked over, turning her arms over and examining her face. "Did Sai'x do this?"

Kairi shrugged. "He might have done some of it, but I think a lot came from the bamboo." Her voice was quite hoarse.

Biting his lip thoughtfully, Axel pronounced his diagnosis. "Well, they're all pretty much closed up. Are you in any pain?"

"No," she answered. "Just kind of stiff."

Before she could say anything else, Axel had circled behind her. Tentatively, he put his hands on her shoulders. His fingers fanned out to rub the twisted muscles bunched underneath the skin. She stiffened, her breath coming in sharply. Axel twisted his knuckles, kneading her upper back.

It felt good. Kairi let her shoulders sag, letting the large hands work the kinks out of her tensed neck and back. Of course, a moment later she remembered who it was that was touching her. She shied away, standing up and wheeling around.

"Stop it!" she yelled, going red with embarrassment. "I don't trust you at all!"

Axel smiled. A sharp little shiver sped up Kairi's back.

"Kairi, please," he said. "I don't want to hurt you. I saved you, remember?"

"That doesn't matter," she protested. "I can't trust you, I just…_can't_."


	10. Temptation

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, but if I did, I'd make Axel my bitch.

Author's Note: Everyone seems extremely excited for this chapter, for some reason. It seems like everyone thinks there's gonna be some' getting' it on'….Well. You'll just have to see!

* * *

Chapter 10

"Kairi…" Axel took a tentative step forward.

"No!" She was still standing in the middle of the room, her face flushed and the blanket raised in front of her like a shield. "Get away from me!"

Her heart was beating very fast and the skin on her back and shoulders was uncomfortably warm. She had almost gotten stupid. Who knew? This all could just be part of his master plan.

Axel sighed, sitting down in the armchair she had vacated. He lowered his head, speaking through his hands. "Kairi, you have nowhere else to go."

"I'll find somewhere!" she hissed.

Looking up, Axel ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "Is there anything I could do to make you trust me? To make you stay here?"

Kairi snorted. "Short of letting me tie you up? Nothing."

Axel raised an eyebrow. His expression had changed from tired to interested. "Really? Would that pacify you?"

"Say what?" Kairi asked, confused.

"Tying me up. Would that make you stay?"

Kairi felt totally at a loss. "Are you serious? You'd really let me tie you up?"

Axel chuckled softly. "Why not? If that's the only way to make you stay…" He was looking more and more interested by the minute.

"Shit," Kairi muttered, catching on. "That's not what I meant."

Axel waved a hand airily, getting to his feet and heading into the back room. "Whatever, no shame in being into that stuff…" he called.

Kairi dumped the blanket onto the chair. She was suddenly feeling extremely stupid and extremely naïve and extremely embarrassed and extremely everything else she didn't have the mental capacity to name at the moment. She sincerely hoped Axel hadn't gotten the wrong idea.

_Of course he got the wrong idea, _she thought to herself. _He's a guy, his mind lives in the gutter!_

A few moments later, Axel emerged carrying a bundle of what seemed to be packing twine. He tossed it to Kairi.

"Sorry, couldn't find any rope. So…where do you want me?"

Kairi groaned audibly. "Hey, I didn't mean—."

"I know what you didn't mean," Axel said, still smiling widely. "Doesn't mean I can't joke around, does it?"

Kairi shrugged. Either way, she would most likely end up staying the night in a house that contained Axel. One scenario involved him being free to walk around (and do other things), while the other had him tied helplessly.

She knew which one she liked better.

"Fine," she said. "What should I use?"

Axel laughed again. He seemed to be enjoying himself way too much. "I guess you wouldn't want to use my bedpost?"

Kairi glared.

"Didn't think so." He pointed at a thin column that served as a support for the roof. "That'll work."

He went over and leaned against it languidly. Kairi picked up the twine, walking over to him awkwardly. She looped it around his wrist several times, and then around his waist. She managed to avoid eye contact throughout the entire process.

"There," she announced. She had tied him in such a way that he could sink to the floor if he wanted to, but standing up would be a chore. He didn't seem particularly put out by his current situation, however.

"What now?" he asked cheesily.

"Now I'm going to sleep," Kairi said.

"So soon?"

Kairi turned her back angrily. She didn't know what was pissing her off, but she felt really mad all of a sudden. She glanced over her shoulder at Axel.

"I'm right here," he said throatily. "Me, the person who dragged you out of your peaceful life, who threw you into this crazy stuff. Don't you hate me? Don't you want to hurt me?"

_He sounds like he wants me to…_Kairi thought, shivering slightly. _Fucking masochist. _

Axel had narrowed his eyes to slits. The small tattoos on his face were very obvious in the pale firelight. Kairi found her eyes traveling from the slope of his neck down to the tight abs revealed by the two open buttons at the bottom of his shirt. Goose bumps broke out over her arms and the fire suddenly seemed unbearably warm.

"Feel safe?"

"Huh?" Kairi squeaked.

"Do you feel safer with me tied up?"

"Not really," Kairi said, happy for something else to focus on. "I haven't felt safe for a long, long time."

"Since me."

"No," Kairi countered, frowning slightly. "It wasn't you. It's everything. The fact that the entire universe is crumbling down around our ears and there's nothing I can do about it."

Axel had turned his eyes to the firelight. "I could. There are things I could do, to save the world. But I don't." His face grew hard. "I'm too damn afraid to do anything."

"Afraid?"

Axel laughed deep in his throat. "I'm afraid of the Organization." He smiled faintly. "There I said it. I'm afraid of my own people, and I don't care about the Universe. I don't care about anything except getting what I want!"

"Me too."

"What?"

"I said…" Kairi swallowed. "I said I don't care. I don't know who you really are or what you guys want, and I don't really know anything about the universe. But I…I don't give a shit. All I want is to find Sora."

"Wow, you really care about the boy, don't you?" Axel shifted in his bonds, trying to get more comfortable. "It's incredible what you're willing to…Kairi, why are you crying?"

Kairi buried her face in her hands. She didn't want him to see, she couldn't let him see! Because there were tears running down her cheeks, thicker and faster than she had ever thought possible. All the strains of the impossible last few days were finally spilling over, leaving her a shuddering, defenseless mess.

Axel watched her from where he was tied. Her hair was covering her face, and she was refusing to look at him. He was feeling something in the pit of his stomach, something like sadness, something like compassion. But no. He was a Nobody. He didn't exist.

He had no heart.

But still, here he was, feeling himself ripped apart by the sadness of one young woman.

Wrenching his hands around, he slipped out of his bonds easily. Kairi may have been a girl of many talents, but bondage was definitely not one of them. The twine pooled at his feet and he stood for a moment, rubbing feeling back into his wrists.

Kairi's shoulders stiffened as he touched her. She looked up, wiping her puffy eyes. Axel didn't know what to say, so he just held her close to him. He didn't know how to comfort anyone. Hell, he didn't even know how to comfort himself.

And as much as he told himself he just wanted to make her stop crying, Axel felt his body rebelling. He skin was hot and his palms were sweating.

"God, Kairi…" he said, teeth clenched, "If there is a god…"

He could take her right here, and she wouldn't resist. He knew she wouldn't. Kairi needed comfort, and it didn't matter where it came from. It would be so easy, and she was so _beautiful. _Axel had never wanted anything so much in his entire existence.

He stood up suddenly, dragging her by the arms. She gasped, looking at him fiercely. Bending down slightly, he kissed her, letting his mouth open in a rush of heat. The two of them stumbled across the room, hitting the far wall with a thump.

The back room was cold and dark, and Axel's bed seemed to loom out of the dark to meet them. He ran his fingers through Kairi's silky hair. Her eyes were burning and there were already marks forming on her neck from where Axel had gotten a little too rough.

He was just trying to figure out the best way to get her extremely complicated clothes off, when he stopped.

Jumping up, he wiped his mouth and high-tailed out of the room, body crying out in protest. He slammed his way out into the chill evening air, his breath turning to a puff of steam with each fevered exhale.

He hated this so much! Why oh why did he have to feel? He let the cold wash over him, razing the feeling of her lips against his skin from his memory.


	11. Swimming in Illusion

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, though I do own the Kingdom Spades.

A/N: Once again, I am really sorry for the length of this chapter. It's short, and I know it, but my inspiration comes in streaks so I think it's best to get the chapter up while it's hot.

* * *

Chapter 11

Swimming in Illusion

Kairi lay on the bed alone, her breath coming quick and ragged. She wasn't aware of anything besides the realization she had just been rejected by Axel. Shivering, she stared up at the ceiling, running her fingers over her bruised and bitten lips.

God dammit, she was crazy. She'd completely gone off the deep end.

Getting up on her shaky feet, Kairi retracted her steps through the house and out into refreshing cold. The door closed behind her with a click that resounded through the still night. A tall, thin figure stood before her, shoulders hunched. The flaming red hair was a beacon in the dark.

"Axel…"

The figure twitched. "You know, this is one of the strangest worlds I've ever been in. It's Halloween everyday here."

"Really?" Kairi asked, not really listening. "Axel, what happened?"

"Kairi, I just can't!" he said, temper flaring up.

Kairi didn't flinch, just stared back, hard-eyed. "Are you afraid of catching something?"

Axel balled his fists. His face was pale and he was shaking. "Kairi, you can't just expect me to be able to control myself! I have no heart, I have no willpower, I just—."

Kairi drew her hand back, slapping him sharply across the face. "Just stop talking. All you're saying is bullshit."

Axel pressed a hand against his cheek, shocked. Kairi giggled, feeling a rush of fondness for the man in front of her. Why did she like him? There was no reason for her to feel anything but loathing, but there you were.

They moved together again slowly. Kairi rested her head against Axel's chest, taking in the smell of his cologne. "I don't really know what's going on, but I don't think you're evil."

Axel closed his eyes, a single tear escaping and sliding down his cheek. It'd been a long time since he'd let himself cry.

He could have stayed like this all day, but suddenly Kairi was ripped from his arms. He got less than a glance of the portal and the man who had taken her, before it all disappeared, leaving the landscape just as it had been a moment before.

Except that Kairi was gone.

It was dark; that was about all she was sure of. Wherever she had been spirited off to was completely without light or sound.

Wait. There was a sound. The clanging of metal against stone, echoing like a gunshot through her head. Kairi felt around on the ground, feeling nothing but cold granite beneath her. The sound had come from her left, hadn't it?

Suddenly, a hand clutched her shoulder. She shrieked as a ball of light sprang up right in front of her, revealing the damp prison walls and the man touching her. His face loomed up like something out of a nightmare, two thin scares slicing across the bridge of his nose.

Kairi felt senseless terror fill her. The bile was rising in her throat as memories of being shoved to the wet ground filled her, of being held down. And of Axel rescuing her.

Would he rescue her now?

No, nobody was going to come. What use was it, cowering against the floor? He would hurt her no matter what, so why shouldn't she fight? Even as this swept through her mind, the blades on the gauntlets reacted, appearing suddenly, one of them in the perfect position to stab the man deep in his stomach without Kairi moving a muscle.

He grunted, clutching at the wound. She took this opportunity to scramble to her feet and out of his reach. She could see the dark blood perfectly in the glow from the disembodied light.

And suddenly the wound wasn't there anymore.

The man looked up. He was smirking now, the same terrifying smirk Kairi remembered. "Sorry, my dear. It will take a little more than that to get rid of a Nobody like me."

"Nobody?" Kairi repeated numbly. "What's a Nobody?"

"Nothing you need to hear about," the man answered. "What you _do _need to hear is that my name is Sai'x, your new jailor." He seemed to relish the notion.

Kairi swallowed, forcing her thoughts to stay together. "So I'm a prisoner of Organization 13?"

Sai'x nodded, the smirk never dropping of his face.

"And you're using me as bait to find Sora?"

Sai'x chuckled, shaking his head. "Honestly, how much did that useless piece of filth tell you? Not that I'm surprised, you do seem to have a few qualities Axel would have found…appealing." His eyes flicked up and down her form.

Revolted, Kairi scowled. "Where am I going to be kept, here?"

"Here? Of course not. This is much too dingy for a creature of the light such as yourself. This should be more suitable." He snapped his fingers. The dungeon was swept away, replaced by another cell. This one's walls were pure, blinding white. Through the bars (which were white as well) Kairi had the view of a gigantic domed ceiling, silver and shining. The floor dropped off a few feet beyond her cell, leaving nothing but a slender, fenceless walkway leading to the door a hundred yards away.

"Where are we?" Kairi asked. She was shocked to find her voice was steady.

"In The World that Never Was," Sai'x answered. "This place," he moved his arms in an all-encompassing gesture, "Does not exist. It was not created by god, or the creator, or whatever theological nonsense you humans have come up with. It was created by anger, by lust, by pride, by gluttony, by sloth, by avarice, by envy. The darkness in the people's hearts has brought this world into reality."

Kairi was silent. The thought that the ground she was currently standing on was crafted by people's sins…well…it was a lot to take in, to say the least.

Sai'x got a different impression from her silence, it seemed. "Does it frighten you?"

"No," Kairi answered. "It doesn't frighten me." She looked at the silver-haired mockery of a human being. "And neither do you."

Sai'x eyes blazed. She had read him perfectly. The thing this man hated beyond everything else was being stood up to. With a strength that was both frightening and unreal, he thrust her against the prison wall.

"I swear to you, if you do not fear me now, you will fear me later."

_What would Sora do? _Kairi asked herself. _Do what Sora would do. _

"Fuck you," she growled.

Okay, not exactly what Sora would do. But close enough.

* * *

Sora collapsed to his knees, gasping for oxygen. He seemed to be choking on everything else in the air; ashes, smog, the coppery smell of blood. Goofy and Donald were in the same position, and even Cloud was soaked with sweat.

"Is that all?" Sora managed to gasp out. He looked out over the edge of the cliff, down into the valley. It was teeming with a living, _breathing _mass of darkness, so thick there didn't seem to be anything else. Hollow Bastion really was going to hell. They had been fighting for almost an hour straight, beginning with that psycho with the guitar, and ending with heartless after heartless.

"What's that?" Donald's startled voice came from his left.

He looked up. A man had appeared, a man with red hair and a long black coat.

"Not you again!" Sora moaned, hoisting himself to his feet with the keyblade.

The man (Axel, wasn't it?) sighed, shrugging in exasperation. "Seriously, you guys are really thick. Can you really not see Organization 13's trap when it's right in front of you?"

"Shut up," Sora spat, wiping his forehead. His hand came away red. "I don't care what you have to say."

"You've changed," Axel observed.

"Yeah, and I told you I don't care what you think! You're the one who kidnapped Kairi!"

For some reason, Axel's shoulders slumped. He looked almost…depressed? How did that figure?

"Look…" he began stiffly. "About Kairi…I'm sorry."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, actually, you need to…"

He trailed off. His eyes widened, staring off over Sora's shoulder. "Shit," he muttered, fading into darkness and out of sight.

Another man had replaced him. This one was silver-haired and shorter, but he was wearing the same coat. The coat of a Nobody.

"Ah, Sora," he said, smirking. "I see you're harvesting hearts like a good little worker bee. Continue."

Sora raised the keyblade, gripping it so hard his fingers went numb. "What's up with you people bothering me all the time?"

The man chuckled. "Bothering you? I'm just here to deliver a message. From my master," he added.

"Message?"

"Yes. The message is, 'Kairi misses you.'"

Sora felt his stomach seize up. The keyblade clattered to the stony ground, but reappeared a moment later in his nerveless hand. "Kairi? You've got Kairi?"

"Don't worry, she's being taken good care of." The man's tongue flicked out, licking his lips.

Sora may have been a kid, but he wasn't an idiot.

"If you touch her, I swear I'll kill you. I'll kill all of you!"

"Yes, yes!" the man cried, raising his hands. "Take that rage and direct it at the heartless! Do what you were put into this universe to do!" He snapped a finger, summoning heartless in a ring around him.

Sora fought them. What other choice did he have?

* * *

Kairi sighed, kicking one of her shoes off. It flew across the cell, hitting the opposite wall with a thump. The other one followed it a moment later.

Sure it wasn't the most intellectual pastime, but she was so _bored. _She had never allowed herself to imagine what it might be like to be the prisoner of Organization 13, but it definitely wouldn't have been this. This was stupid! All she'd had to do for the past two days was stare at that never-changing bridge thing in the center of the room!

Wryly, she thought how much more interesting things would be if Axel showed up. Did you get detention for having sex in an Organization cell?

She laughed stupidly, wondering faintly if she was going crazy. Maybe the boredom was going to her head. Could people go insane from boredom?

"Come on, Axel, here boy!" she called.

Honestly, most times you couldn't get rid of the guy, but the minute you wanted him for something…

"Come on, I'm so fucking bored!" she yelled again. "Come on, we could finish what we started two days ago. I'm sure I'd make a good fuc—."

"Would you shut up?"

Kairi screamed. Axel had appeared outside her cell, wearing a really annoyed expression. She scrambled to her numb legs, stumbling over to him.

"Axel, oh my god, where have you been?"

"Around." He glanced to either side of him. "Listen. There's not much time. I can't reach you inside this cage, and you can't call up a portal either, can you?"

Kairi shook her head.

"I thought so. You're stuck here right now, but don't worry. Your hero's coming for you." He scowled, dropping his eyes to the floor. "Sora…he's on his way."

"What?" Kairi covered her mouth with her hand, aghast. "Isn't this exactly what the Organization wants?"

Axel shrugged, smiling his lopsided grin. "Told you I was a bad guy, didn't I? Now, about what we started two days ago…what'dya have in mind?"


	12. The Kingdom Hearts

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Kingdom Hearts. They own me.

A/N: thank you so much for all your reviews! I have gotten so many that I can barely believe it! Like I said before, reviews are better than sex! Well, maybe... Guess it depends on sex with who…wait, am I still talking?

Let's get going already!

Oh, and one more thing. The edit/preview thing on fanfiction is being an ass, so if the format's kind of weird please forgive me.

Chapter 12

The Kingdom Hearts

_Told you I was a bad guy, didn't I? _

Kairi wanted to punch herself in the face. Or Axel. Or the wall.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

Axel smirked at her from the other side of the bars. "You look kind of pissed. Anything wrong?"

There was nothing Kairi could do but give a very hollow laugh. "It was all an act, wasn't it? All that bullshit about saving me and caring about me…it was totally fake."

"Maybe," Axel answered, fingers curling around the white bars. "Does that turn you on?" He kneaded his gloved palms against the cold metal, eyes glistening.

Kairi snorted. "As if."

Axel chuckled throatily. "Liar."

"Like it matters," Kairi snapped testily. "You said you couldn't get inside this cage, anyway."

"Oh." Axel waved a hand airily. "I was lying about that too." He vanished, to reappear a split-second later inside the cell. Kairi squeaked, jumping backward a couple of feet.

"Come on, didn't you just say a minute ago that you're bored?" Axel drawled, matching every one of her steps with one of his own. "You need some way to let out some of the pent up…_energy._"

He leapt forward, moving as fast as he had that day on the beach. Kairi yelled as he clutched her about the shoulders, slamming her hard against the wall. She thought vaguely that she should be shoving him off, but her brain seemed to have fogged over.

_Stupid, stupid hormones! _she thought angrily.

His nails were digging into her arms and his face was an inch from away from her. When he made a move to kiss her, she held him back.

"Shit, Axel, they're probably watching!"

"So we'll give them a decent show." He nipped the curve of her jaw.

"I do not want a cult of psychotic old men watching me!" Kairi stated, with so much seriousness that Axel had to laugh.

"Okay…" he mused, looking up at the ceiling, apparently searching for something. He squinted at the far left corner of the cell. Snapping a lazy finger, a burst of orange flame shot from his palm up to the cieling. There was an electric fizzling sound, like something short-circuiting.

"Fuck yes!" Axel yelled in triumph. "If there ever was anyone watching they're most definitely not watching now!"

_Dammit_. Kairi cursed internally. She was running out of excuses. Being locked in a cage with a gorgeous and horny man might be thrilling in theory, but right now she was just kind of…lost.

Axel turned back to her, shoving her against the wall again and pressing his lips to her neck. He had to lean down pretty far (he was about a foot taller than her) but he didn't seem to mind. Kairi shivered, really wanting to bash her head against a wall.

_Why do I want Axel? I shouldn't want Axel! I should want Sora, I should want _him _to be the one doing this! _

This spiraled through her head like a mantra, leaving her feeling dizzy and breathless. Or maybe that was because Axel now had clamped his mouth over hers, blocking the oxygen flow.

But dammit, this was hot. Kairi had kissed boys back at home, but they all had been around her age; inexperienced and clumsy. Axel was the utter opposite. He knew how to use his tongue so it didn't feel like some repulsively foreign object invading her mouth. One of his arms wrapped around her waist while the other hand threaded through her hair.

Her next action took every ounce of willpower in her being.

Kairi pushed Axel away once again, extracting his tongue from her mouth. She held him at arm's length.

"No."

He stared at her for a moment or two. There was nothing calculating about this

gaze; no bravado, no ambition, no intention. There was just raw emotion, and for a fleeting second Kairi understood. She saw down into the pit of Axel's being, down to whatever it was that made him tick. Then he laughed softly, breaking the spell.

"Alright." He loosened the grip on her shoulders. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Kairi said, trying to smile with him. "It's just—."

"You don't have to explain. This is life, right? This is what having a heart feels like." He scratched the back of his neck, dropping his eyes to the floor. He was struggling to find the words. "You know, I thought I'd lost everything when I lost…when I lost _him_, but…" He looked back up at her, almost apologetic. "I think…maybe hearts—the _kingdom hearts_ we've been searching for—I don't think we've been looking in the right place." He smiled suddenly. "So I'm gonna go."

Kairi couldn't help the tears that were threatening to overtake her. "Axel…"

He shook his head, silencing her. Timidly, he leaned forwards, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "See ya." He was a foot away from the bars when he turned back. "By the way, I didn't tell them where you were. I would never give them a firebrand like you. Might burn their fucking fingers." Axel disappeared in a flash of the darkness, his last words floating back through the stillness.

"Got it memorized?"

Sora wasn't doing too well. His head was pounding, his arms ached, and the pervading stench of the Realm made him want to throw up. Donald had already been knocked out, and neither he nor Goofy had any strength left to use a healing spell.

And still the heartless came.

"This—is—insane!" he growled, tossing the keyblade from his right to his left hand and slashing vertically, rendering another four of the little shadows lifeless. If only they were the only things he had to deal with! But no, they were being bombarded with wave after wave of flyers, crawlers, even those annoying little bastards that buried beneath them. To make a bad situation worse, the damn things were twice as durable in the Realm of Darkness as they were in any of the worlds.

They weren't going to last much longer like this.

"Jesus, you guys really don't know what hell you're doing, do you?"

Sora spun around, adrenaline spiking. There he was again, that damn Axel! He was standing there grinning cockily, arms folded.

"Get out of here!" Sora nearly screamed. "I don't have time!"

Axel started. "Oh, hi guys," he said, addressing the heartless, "Didn't see you there." He threw his arms down to his sides and suddenly he was holding two wheels of flame. These he proceeded to spin dangerously around his head, flashing another grin. "Let's get to it!"

There was nothing Sora could do but throw up the keyblade in a clumsy block. Axel had to be at least ten times stronger than he was and…wait. Axel wasn't attacking _him; _he had leapt over his head, blasting the first line of heartless into oblivion.

"This isn't a spectator sport, you know," he called back over his shoulder.

Sora was jerked back into action, launching himself at the nearest monster. Together, he and Axel made quick work of the denizens of the dark, but still they came thicker than ever. Goofy collapsed beside Donald, energy completely gone.

_No, no, no! _

Sora was tiring, reaching the point of absolute exhaustion, when something rather unexpected occurred. Axel began to glow with an inner light, bright red but quickly changing to blue as the heat intensified. With a cry unlike anything Sora had ever heard, the flames exploded outward, decimating absolutely everything in their path. Except for three life forms.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They were untouched. The attack lasted for what felt like a zillion years. When at last the smoke cleared, Sora stared around him in utter shock.

Not a single heartless remained.

What did remain was Axel, facedown on the insubstantial ground. Sora got to his feet, sprinting over and dropping down at Axel's side. "That was incredible!"

Axel's face was white and sweat-streaked, but he still managed a funny half-smile. There was something glassy about his eyes, and they seemed to be getting dimmer by the minute.

"Heh. I guess this's what happens when you put you're whole life into an attack." A cough racked his body and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Don't try to talk…" Sora began.

Axel snorted. "Forget about that, man. I've never shut up once in my life, I am _not _gonna change that just 'cause I'm dying."

Sora felt tears starting in his eyes. Somehow, the death of this man, of an enemy, touched him to the very core. He had no logical explanation for it, he just felt like the loss of Axel was something he couldn't handle.

"No, you're not gonna die," he said, though strangely it didn't sound like his voice.

Axel laughed. "Well whad'ya know? You are just like him. Save the worlds, Sora. Do it for him."

"For…Roxas…" Sora muttered, once again unable to explain how he knew that name.

"Yeah. Oh, and tell Kairi I'm sorry."

"You can tell you her yourself!" Sora insisted.

Axel just shook his head. "Don't be an idiot. I'm done with this bullshit." He coughed once more, and then lay still.

"Kairi."

She twitched, fighting her way up from the foggy land of sleep. Her name was called again, whispered urgently from across the cell. Sitting up, she forced her eyes open. There was someone there; not standing outside of the bars but by the back wall. She was small and blond, greeting Kairi with a warm smile.

"Namine? That's your name, right?"

The girl nodded, holding out her hand. Kairi couldn't explain how she knew this girl, but she did. She felt as familiar as her own reflection.

"Come with me," Namine called, turning and disappearing through the solid wall.

"Great," Kairi muttered, getting to her feet. "Fabulous. Because I run through god damn walls after every meal." Regardless, she took a deep breath and charged, closing her eyes at the last moment and putting her hands up in front of her face.

She didn't hit anything. Instead she found herself standing on a pure white walkway, wrapping around the central structure her cell had perched on. To her left was a seemingly never-ending abyss, black as the…the blackest thing Kairi had ever seen. Okay, not the most eloquent metaphor, but she'd been through a lot. She forgave herself for her literate inadequacy.

Namine was standing at the edge, still looking at Kairi with that same happy expression.

"Who are you?" Kairi asked.

The girl giggled in a very familiar way. "I'm Namine, silly. You already know that."

"Yeah I do, but that doesn't mean anything. Besides, I don't even know how I know your name." Kairi racked her brain. "I don't think I've ever met you."

"No, you haven't. But come on, we have to get out of here before the Organization comes back."

She started off down the walkway, headed for who knows where. Kairi followed a moment later. It wasn't like she had much of a choice. And anyway, she felt like she could trust Namine. She didn't know how or why; she should have been incapable of trust at this point.

"Would you mind explaining some stuff to me?" Kairi asked as they ran side by side.

Namine shook her head. "I can't. But he can." She pointed. Kairi followed her gaze and pulled up short.

It was an Organization member. Or at least, it looked like one. But it felt like…

"Riku?"


	13. Black and White

Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say. Do I even have to say it?

A/N: Wow, this one didn't take very long at all. It's probably cause I finally get to write about Sora. I've realized I have a sort of unexplainable affection for the little idiot.

Read and review, people!

Chapter 13

Black and White

Kairi's heart was pounding on double-time. She couldn't explain it, but she knew this was—

"Riku!" she repeated, sprinting the last few feet to the cloaked man. He raised a hand, hesitantly brushing back his hood.

The sight that greeted Kairi underneath was like a slap to the face. She had been expecting one of her best friends; all silver hair and sea-green eyes. This man looked nothing like him. He was tanned and intense, his fiery eyes glowing like a furnace. There was only one word for him. Frightening.

Kairi stumbled back, careening right into Namine. The two of them fell to the floor in a tangle. No, no, no, this couldn't be right! It was Riku, it had to be Riku, it felt like Riku!

The man leaned down, hair spilling over his shoulders. He offered a gloved hand. "Let me help you, Kairi." He smiled. It was a very familiar smile.

"It is you!" Kairi yelped, jumping up and almost throwing herself into the man's arms. Riku buried his head in her hair, holding her to him with a ferocity that suggested he expected her to dissolve into thin air if he let go. Kairi could feel his arms shaking. Or maybe that was her arms shaking.

"I haven't seen you in over two years!" she gasped, looking up at him. "What happened to you? I don't think you can exactly call this puberty."

Riku laughed. "I'll tell you when we get the chance. First, we've got to find Sora."

"Yeah!" Kairi agreed. "Oh, Riku, this is—."

"Namine," Riku finished for her. "We've met." Namine smiled from where she was witnessing the happy reunion.

"Alright, let's go!" Kairi commanded, starting down the platform.

"Wait," Riku called, tugging on her shoulder. "I have something to give you." He was suddenly holding something. Something silver and pink and dangerous looking. A keyblade.

"Take it," Riku prompted.

_What..? _It was with great uncertainty that Kairi reached out and claimed the weapon from Riku's grasp, the whole time expecting it to vanish and reappear back into his hand. Not that silver, pink, and shiny suited him exactly…

But the keyblade rested in her palm like it had been made for her. A surge of power flew up her arm, sending tingles dancing across her skin. She spun it over her head, chopping down at an imaginary enemy, overbalancing and stumbling into Riku. He caught her by the shoulders.

"Hey, save it for the heartless."

She smiled. "Okay."

The little group continued on their way down the ramp. Kairi walked shoulder to shoulder with Namine, a pace or two behind Riku. A warm glow had appeared inside her and it was getting brighter by the minute. She was going to see Sora, she was going to have her life back! All they had to do was finish this.

The possibility of failure didn't even occur to her. She had her guys back. Who was going to stop them? No one. For just a fleeting moment, she wondered where Axel had gone. Was he alright? But then she shook the thought from her head. It wasn't the time for worries. Axel could take care of himself.

"Riku…"

"Yeah?" he called back.

"It's good to see you, even if it is in an old man's body."

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Riku protested indignantly. "Besides, it definitely beats having him in _my _body. That was just creepy."

Kairi grinned, realizing as she did that it was the first smile she'd cracked in a long time that was exactly as it seemed. It wasn't to cover up an awkward moment or meant to trick someone into giving her what she wanted. She was smiling because she was genuinely happy. There was only one thing that could improve this moment.

"Is Sora here?"

Riku nodded, those creepy eyes turning on her. "Yes, I can feel him, he…Is there something on my face?"

"No, why did you think—."

"You're smiling like a doofus."

Kairi dissolved into laughter. The sight of that intense, super-villain face speaking the word 'doofus' was a little too much for her to handle. Beside her, Namine was laughing too, though she was a little hesitant, like she wasn't sure if she was allowed to. Once again, Kairi was struck by the completely unquestioning trust she was putting in the little blond. She was a complete stranger, and in a place like this it would be safe to treat ever stranger as an enemy. But not with Namine. Kairi felt that if she couldn't depend on Namine…she couldn't depend on herself.

It made no sense, but Kairi had long since given up trusting to sense.

"Where are we going?" Kairi asked Riku. It was beginning to seem like this goddamn platform would never end.

"To The Proof of Existence," Riku answered. "We've gotta hurry. I have a feeling Sora needs us."

"Come on, when has he not needed us?" Kairi laughed. "I mean, if it wasn't for us, he wouldn't…oh shit!"

The walkway had ended. Suddenly it just wasn't there anymore, and they were standing on a balcony, overlooking a battlefield.

Heartless. That was the only way to describe it. They were everywhere; clustered together in teeming pools of darkness, clinging to the walls and ceiling like barnacles. But that wasn't all; there was something new.

"White heartless?" Kairi shouted, "What the fuck next?" The things were vaguely humanoid—skeletal and strangely nauseating—and they moved differently than the shadows. They moved with purpose.

Namine touched Kairi's shoulder tentatively. "Those are nobodies, not heartless."

"Nobodies? What the hell are nobodies?"

"Worse," Riku said, by way of an explanation. "Much worse. Faster, stronger."

And the nobodies weren't the end of it. The room before them was as vast as a cathedral, its ceilings hundreds of feet above Kairi's head. The balcony she was standing on was relatively close to the floor, a floor that was marked out like an arena. In the very center was a sight that filled Kairi both with barely suppressible joy and unfathomable horror.

There was a boy down in the arena squaring off against a black-coated Organization member. He was different than she remembered. Not physically (there'd be no way to tell from up on the balcony), it was more like a presence. He had become the single beacon of light in a world full of darkness. There was only one word Kairi could come up with (you recall that Kairi's vocabulary tends to fail her at moments of great excitement).

_Beautiful_.

"You're beautiful, Sora!" she yelled, punching a fist into the air, "Kick the bastard back to hell!"

Sora didn't appear to hear her, which was probably a good thing. He didn't need any distractions. The man he was fighting seemed to be…warping through thin air. Literally He would appear above Sora, fire a burst of energy from his unnecessarily massive gun (maybe he was compensating for something?) then disappear before his opponent had the chance to retaliate.

It worked in theory, at least.

In practice, however, the man hadn't counted on Sora's annoying tendency to jump, flip, or cartwheel to the side, effectively evading the bullets. He would then deliver a smashing blow to the man's chest, knocking him back a few feet. Their fight was actually unconsciously bringing them closer to the trio on the balcony, which was exactly what Kairi was hoping for.

Sora flipped the keyblade over his head, catching it blind and swinging it up into the member's face.

"You like that?" he quipped. Despite the sweat running over his body in streams and the many marks the energy bullets had left, he gave his enemy a winning smile. The man was getting frustrated. He seemed to have forgotten his gun and was now just desperately trying to get Sora in his grasp. The keyblade master flipped backwards, sending himself into a one-handed handspring.

"You out of bullets?" he called teasingly. "What a shame."

The man snarled, catching Sora on the side of the face with the barrel of his useless gun.

Kairi drew in her breath sharply. Beside her, Riku just rolled his eyes.

"Stop taunting the idiot and finish him," he muttered.

"Come on Riku," Kairi said, nudging him breathlessly. Sora had just blocked the second blow, muscles straining under his sweat-slicked skin. "It's kind of an awesome thing to watch."

Riku laughed. "Why Kairi, I do believe watching Sora kill things is getting you hot."

"Well duh," Kairi answered, turning and giving him a vixen grin.

"You've changed, Kairi."

"You're telling me."

"Yes!"

Sora's cry of victory echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls and making the nobodies squirm in agitation. One of their Generals had just been soundly schooled by a sixteen year old boy.

Kairi swore. "Gaaa! I missed it!" She was just about to call down to Sora, when another man in an Organization coat appeared on the scene. He had silver hair and a rather orangey tan. He approached Sora with long, meaningful strides. The two of them seemed to be conversing, but Kairi couldn't hear a thing.

She turned back to Riku. "What now?"

"Now we do what we're meant to do. Help Sora."


	14. Are You Me or Am I You?

Disclaimer: Ah, yes. I don't own anything. Nothing, you hear me! So all you people who keep telling me I own things, you can eat it!

Ahem.

Author's Note: Ah, September, that glorious month where children all over the world shriek and curse and carry on in a very undignified manner. Why, you ask? I'll tell you why.

School. That's right. Public intuitions! The meat grinder! Fight the system, I tell you! Don't let them make you just another brick in the wall!

DarkNite holds no responsibility for any student uprisings that her words inspire

Yeah, well this whole rant has been a way for me to justify the horrible rate with which I have been updating.

And without further ado…

Another author's note: (apologies) Thanks to all the people who noticed and acknowledged the fact that I tried to portray Sora as kind of sexy. Come on, it's true, ain't it? You know it's true!

--------

Chapter 14

Are You Me or Am I You?

Sora was pissed. Seriously pissed. Pissed enough to kill.

Not that he needed that as an excuse.

The World that Never Was (who came up with that name, anyway?) was really beginning to grate his cheese. For a place that didn't technically exist, it sure was a pain. So far he and his comrades had been attacked by droves of heartless, set upon by endless nobodies, and jumped by the occasional Organization member. True, taking out his frustration on that dude with the guns and the annoying tendency to teleport around the arena had been fun, but Xemnas…that guy just irked him.

He had appeared again to deliver his cryptic messages, staring down at Sora, Donald, and Goofy with that condescending smirk the Organization could have trademarked.

"What do you want?" Sora demanded, hefting the keyblade.

"Just to congratulate you on getting this far. The hearts you have harvested have added their number to my little collection. Soon Kingdom Hearts will be complete."

Sora snored, closing his eyes and letting his head drift to the side. He snorted. "What? Were you saying something? Sorry, I fell asleep."

Xemnas' mouth became a thin line. "You may laugh, but tell me…can you handle this?" He waved a hand, and suddenly he was joined by his white, undulating little friends.

Sora hissed, his grip on the keyblade tightening. Sure, Xemnas was melodramatic, but he knew what he was doing. Nobodies, nobodies, and more nobodies, springing up from out of nowhere. They turned their faces toward him like they were staring, but he was pretty sure they didn't have eyes. They attacked and fought using some primal instinct, but they were centuries smarter than the heartless.

Much more dangerous.

Xemnas smirked, disappearing in another surge of darkness. Sora swore loudly, causing Donald and Goofy to look around at him in dismay. He just frowned. Now wasn't the time to be prim and proper. Now was the time to start killing things. He tensed his muscles for a flying leap, when a voice rang out over the cathedral-like room.

"Sora!"

--------

"Kairi, no!" Riku sprang toward her, dragging her back from the balcony. "You're gonna distract him."

Kairi tried to shove him off, but Ansem's body was bigger and stronger than Riku's usual one. "Dammit, get off of me! We've gotta help him."

"No," Riku said, holding her still and forcing her to meet his gaze. "_I've _got to help him. I have another job for you."

"What?" Kairi asked, the whining tone her voice had taken on disgusting her slightly.

"Are you familiar with a man named Sai'x?"

"Yes…"

"He needs to be dealt with. The good guys want him gotten rid of."

Kairi folded her arms stubbornly. "And who the heck are these good guys? I want some answers here, Riku!"

"It's a little confusing," Riku admitted, "But I'll explain it all later. Right now I have a plan."

"Does this plan involve me using this swanky new keyblade on Sai'x?"

"Yes."

"Does it involve tearing the bastard to shreds?"

"Yes."

"Do I get to do it on my own?"

"Yes."

Kairi grinned. "I'm there."

----------

"Shit!"

It was the first word Reno had spoken in quite awhile and it tore at his throat, forcing him into a fit of coughing. His whole body shook violently. It was responding to the suddenly intense wave of stimuli that was hitting him from every angle. Piercing light, the sound of the wind, a harsh burning smell. He opened his eyes slowly once the hacking coughs had subsided. There was blood on his pale fingers, and the coppery taste lingered in his mouth.

_Fucking hell, _he thought vehemently, _Don't tell me I've managed to contract Tuberculosis on top of everything else!_

But what exactly was everything else? The last thing he could remember was sitting on the balcony of that apartment work had provided him with, taking a long drag on a cigarette and looking out over the recently reconstructed Midgar City. It had been one of those rare moments when he'd been at piece with everything; the Planet, himself, the past.

And then everything had moved faster then a Sector 7 whore.

The lights and the city had all gone out. All at once, which was a thing that never happened. Sure, a couple reactors might blow every so often, but never all together. That was just unthinkable.

But as it turned out, it hadn't been a power surge. It had been something thick, tangible, and _alive. _A gluttonous darkness had descended, grabbing at Reno's very heart. He'd tried to fight it, he had, but he just wasn't strong enough.

And now he was here he was, standing in some grey, foggy limbo. There was nothing anywhere, the mist was never ending. Reno didn't know it now, but this was the first time he'd been conscious in over two years.

_Thump thump thump. _

He groped for his heart, as if checking to make sure it was still there. It was beating as steadily as always, but somehow it felt like it hadn't been just a few minutes ago.

"Dammit!" he yelled, stumbling around in a little circle and almost tripping over the trailing ends of his un-cuffed pants. He looked down at himself. He was still in the same thing he'd been wearing on the balcony. Slacks, un-tucked dress shirt, and a wrinkled blazer. Work clothes.

"Woah…what the--?"

Something had appeared that most definitely hadn't been there before. The constantly shifting grey fog had become a sparkling desert oasis, lush palm trees dipping toward crystal blue water. Reno inched forward hesitantly. Was it going to bite him? In this place, he wouldn't put it past anything not to attack him. The…what was the word for it? Aura? Yeah, that was it. The aura was all wrong.

Still, the sight of the fresh, cool water was enough to nudge him forward. He was thirsty (wouldn't you be after two years?) and his throat was killing him. The moment he stepped to the edge of the pool, the fog was completely gone, replaced by an endless desert. Reno felt the heat on the back of his neck.

That was it. He didn't care if the water was poisoned. He fell to his knees, splashing his face and drinking deeply. He might have sat there for about a minute before he became aware of the person on the other side of the oasis.

"Fuck!" he spluttered, getting up so quickly he tripped over his own feet and went sprawling. The man across the pool laughed.

"You doing okay, buddy?"

Reno squinted through the sun, trying to make out his features. The man seemed to be removing some heavy coat, unzipping it down the front and revealing a pale chest. Without another word, he dived head first into the oasis. Reno watched his form turn to nothing but a shadow as he swam for the bottom. He stayed down there for quite awhile.

_Dammit, _Reno thought in annoyance. _Don't tell me I'm gonna have to dive down and save the bastard…_

But a moment later the other man reappeared, body coming into focus as he shot toward the surface.

_Like a fucking dolphin, _Reno couldn't help thinking.

His head broke the surface, sending little waves rippling over the white sand. He shook the water from his crimson hair, striking out for the beach and Reno.

"Hot, ain't it?"

The two's eyes met, and identical looks of disbelief claimed their faces.

_No fucking way…_

They weren't twins, that was for sure, but Reno was fucked if he didn't see the most incredible resemblance. The same shade of hair, with the same texture (especially now that the other man's was wet), same pale, almost vampiric skin, even similarly colored tattoos in the exact same spots. Their bodies matched perfectly; thin shoulders and muscles that were only defined because they were so skinny. The other man had his pants on, but Reno would bet a whole sack of Materia that the bottom half was identical as well.

"Shit…" the other man breathed.

"I'm with you, man." Reno was practically numb. Slowly, he took a step forward, which his counterpart mirrored. The two men moved together until there was barely half a foot between them, with the same goal in mind.

They needed to see the other's eyes.

Reno swore internally. There was no mistaking it. The man's eyes were his. Every time he looked into a mirror, that was what he saw. Himself. It was like his soul had split in two and half of it had gone to inhabit another body.

"This is—,"

"Crazy," the other man finished.

"And it's not just physical," Reno went on shakily, "It's like we—,"

"Take up the same space," they said in unison.

The other man grinned a very familiar grin. "I'm Axel."

"Reno…why the hell are you so happy?" The look of pure joy on Axel's face was pissing him off. Why wasn't he freaked out?

Axel laughed. "Who, me? Don't worry about me. I'm nobody. But you, Reno…you're somebody. _My _somebody."

"Say what?" Reno asked, totally lost.

"Think," Axel commanded. "Doesn't it feel like something's missing?"

Reno was about to tell him no, and to go fuck himself, when it hit him. Axel was right. He was feeling…empty. Like, not right somehow, and it wasn't just the fact that he'd suddenly found himself in a bizarre new place.

He took a deep, calming breath. "Okay. What the hell?"


	15. Crawling in the Dark

Disclaimer: Not Mine.

A/N: I know, I know. "Oh my god, the bitch updated!" I have had a supreme lack of anything resembling time in the past few weeks. In the last few days, I've probably had less than thirty minutes to just write or fuck around. Thank god for Saturday!

Chapter 15

Crawling in the dark

_Show me what it's for, _

_Make me understand it. _

_I've been crawling in the dark, looking for the answers._

-Hoobastank

* * *

"Okay," Reno said for about the fourteenth time. He ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. "This is fucking blowing my mind."

Axel laughed from where he was lounging on a sun warmed rock, trailing his feet in the oasis. "It's not really that difficult to grasp. Your world got attacked by the heartless, your heart wasn't strong enough, so they ripped your being apart."

"Yeah, alright. And that's the part I'm fucking having a lot of fucking trouble with!"

Axel sighed. "Your body became a heartless," he said slowly, as though speaking to an incredibly dense child, "Your heart was absorbed into the ether, and your soul manifested and became me. Got it memorized?"

"Stop doing that!" Reno growled, fervently wishing he had his EMP rod.

"Stop doing what?" Axel asked innocently.

"Stop saying 'got it memorized'. You've done it like fifteen fucking times."

"You sure like the word 'fuck'."

"So? What the fuck is wrong with fuck?"

"Nothing. It's just, it gets a little redundant after awhile, don't ya think?"

"Fuck you!"

"My, my, you're certainly forward."

"Shut up!"

"Make me, dickwipe."

"Eat it, cocksucker!"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you!"

"Oh my god, **shut up**!"

"Make me."

"You're asking for it, you son of a bitch."

"Oh yeah, what are you gonna do?"

"I was thinking about kicking your skinny ass!"

"You'd kick your own soul's skinny ass?"

"You're not my soul!"

Reno spoke this last outburst without any real conviction. Axel was his soul and they both knew it, so there wasn't any real point in arguing about it. This guy just kind of pissed Reno off. He should've known he wouldn't like himself if he met himself.

_Dammit, am _I _this annoying? _Reno thought. _Naw. Not nearly. And I'm sexier, too. _

"Yeah right," Axel huffed.

Reno looked back his way. "What d'ya mean, yeah right?"

Axel folded his arms. He'd long since unzipped his long back coat, revealing a pair of tight-fitting pants and a very pale, lightly muscled chest. "There's no way you're sexier than me."

"Hells yes, bitch, I…Wait a minute." He thought back for a second. "I didn't even say that out loud. Christ, do not tell me that you can read my goddamn thoughts!"

Axel shrugged. "Most nobodies can. When their somebody's around, at least."

Reno, suddenly exhausted, sat down next to him on the rock. "This is a little too much to take," he admitted. He drew his legs up to his chest and rested his head on his knees. "So what is going on out there, wherever 'there' happens to be?"

"It's kinda a long story."

"Like we have anything better to do?"

"We could have sex."

Axel and Reno looked at each other.

"Or not," they said in unison.

* * *

Sai'x stood at the foot of the skyscraper. It was a tall, ominous looking building, almost as unsettling as the scarred man himself. Of all the places in the World That Never Was, this was his favorite. It just felt _right. _By right he of course meant 'evil in the most all-consuming way'. The second-in-command of Organization 13 sighed contentedly. Axel, that son of a bitch with a tight ass and impossible hair, was dead, and the keyblade master would soon be joining him. The cell at the top of the castle was currently occupied by Sora's one true love, who he would be visiting in a few minutes. He rubbed his hands together in expectation.

Add in the fact that Kingdom Hearts was on the verge of opening its doors, and it was the best night ever.

"Hey, psycho!"

Sai'x stiffened.

"So the little mouse has escaped her cage," he muttered, turning.

The girl, Kairi, was standing at the base of the skyscraper. There was a look of pure hatred written across her face, twisting her pretty features. Sai'x eyes narrowed. There was something in her hand, something long and shiny, something…

"Is that...?"

"Oh what, this old thing?" Kairi glanced down at her hand. "It was on sale. I just _had_ to have it."

His eyes widened. "But—that's…no! That's impossible!"

Kairi shrugged. "Yeah? And you have a boss who's name is an anagram for 'man sex'. Some things in the universe don't make sense."

Sai'x laughed, though Kairi wasn't sure if he was laughing at the crack on Xemnas, or at the inner workings of his own devious mind.

"So you've met the leader of Organization 13, have you?" he asked.

"Not really. Axel must have mentioned him. Or maybe Riku."

Sai'x narrowed his eyes. "Riku?"

Kairi grinned winningly. "Yep. Another warrior for the light. Now that the three of us are together, me, Sora, and Riku, we're so totally gonna kick your collective asses. Oh, and I'm sure Axel'll help too, seeing as he turned on you bastards."

"Oh?" Sai'x matched Kairi's superior smile, though his made you want to run and hide under your bed. "Axel is going to help you? Form beyond the grave, I suppose?"

"Beyond the…?" Kairi found herself going cold. "No."

"Oh, but _yes,_" Sai'x said, closing the distance between them with slow, measured steps. "Poor, dear Axel rescued your precious keyblade wielder, and died in the process. It really is a terrible tragedy."

Kairi was breathing hard, like she had just sprinted a mile. The words were echoing through her head. Dead, dead, dead! Axel was dead. She tried to calm her whirlwind of a mind, tried to focus on not hyperventilating. She growled out the only thing that instantly sprang to mind.

"I hate you."

"Yes, I know," Sai'x muttered, close enough to brush the back of his hand against her cheek, "And that's what makes all this sweeter."

The feeling of his skin against her sent a white hot streak of anger through Kairi's being. The Organization, the heartless, the nobodies. The _people_, they were the ones who had ruined her life. They'd taken everything from her, her island, her family, her friends, even her heart. It was only through the sacrifice of two boys that anything had been saved. Sora and Riku were the reasons that the worlds still existed. They were the universe's strength, the universe's hope. This was their story, not Kairi's.

_I may be nothing but an afterthought, _Kairi spoke to herself, _But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stand by and watch everything go to hell. _

With a twirl of her keyblade, she smacked away the hand on her cheek.

"I'm a lot like you, Sai'x," she said, staring straight up into the man's face, meeting those burning eyes. "I'm a nobody. I could die right here and the universe wouldn't know the difference. But guess what, fuckhead? I'm not going to."

She swung the keyblade at the man's head. He managed to duck, but not by much. Maybe this fight wouldn't be one-sided after all.

* * *

Riku could feel the darkness pulling at him as he fought. The moments when he lost himself, during combat or when he was asleep, his control became harder and harder to maintain. He had opened his heart to the darkness once, and now it was always there, just below the surface of his perception, waiting to drag him back under. Here, in The World That Never Was and practically right on top of Kingdom Hearts, everything was a million times worse. He had met up with Sora, who had seen him for who he faster than Kairi had, and now he and his companions were climbing the endless tower.

He jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding a giant, dog-like heartless' massive jaws. A quick sweep of his sword sent it back to the abyss. There were certainly a hell of a lot of them, though they seemed to have the decency to only attack in small groups, as he, Sora, Goofy, and Donald climbed steadily higher and higher to The Proof of Existence.

As he fought, Riku couldn't help watching the way his best friend had matured. Sora's body had become a veritable weapon, spinning and jumping, kicking and rolling all over the place. He handled that keyblade like it was another limb. The last time Riku had seen him, the time the two of them had shut the door on Kingdom Hearts, he had still been awkward in his movements, as if he couldn't believe he was actually there. Now, there hovered on his face a constant little grin. It disappeared every so often, as his face contorted into a mask of pain, but something had happened to Sora.

He was enjoying this.

The thrill of the kill, the bloodshed, the power. Riku could hardly blame him; standing at the edge of such a brilliant darkness rubbed off on one after awhile.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Riku had spent just a moment too long focusing on his friend's battle grace. Another one of those fanged heartless had crawled out of thin air right beside him, unfurling its wings and sending him stumbling back over the edge. For the briefest second, the world was nothing but rushing air and a sickening feeling of despair, until he felt a sweaty hand grip him around the wrist. He opened his eyes hesitantly.

The view was one of the most terrifying things he had ever experienced, and that was saying something. He was hanging in midair, hundreds of stories up on a twisted tower. Below him was nothing but a seething pool of darkness waiting to swallow him up. He gasped, clutching impossibly hard to his only lifeline, which happened to be a little brunette boy. Sora had grabbed his hand, throwing himself over the edge and casting a half-assed magnet spell to attach the keyblade to the edge of the building. It wouldn't last.

"Riku, hold on!" Sora called, muscles standing out on his thin arm.

Riku didn't speak, just obeyed. Damn, he wished he wasn't wearing this body. His old one was so much smaller!

Sora could feel his spell beginning to wear off. "Donald, help!"

The duck spun around, eyes going wide when he saw the position the two boys had gotten themselves into. He blasted the a heartless out of the way with a fireball, then ran to the edge.

"Wind!" he yelled, and suddenly Riku felt himself rising. The Aero spell wrapped around them, depositing the shaking boys on the hard platform. Riku panted, glorifying in the feel of solid ground beneath him. But just as he moved to rise, he felt the darkness take him.

He was being pulled down, down, down. This was it. There would be no coming back, he could feel it. Despair overtook him.

But suddenly a voice was calling to him.

"Riku! Riku, please stay with me!"

He became aware of the hands shaking his shoulder and the refreshing rush of a cure spell. The darkness was ripped away, and with it something else. He sat up slowly, focusing in on the silver hair in his eyes. That was his hair…and yes, these were his hands. He looked at Sora, who's face was shining.

"Riku, you're back!"

Riku suddenly found himself tackled to the ground by an armful of teenage boy. Sora was hugging him fiercely, burying his face in his chest. For just a moment, everything in the universe felt right. It didn't matter that a bunch of psychopaths were about to open a door to the realm of Kingdom Hearts, or that the worlds around them were slowly crumbling, or that they were under the constant threat of attack. For one tiny instant, they allowed themselves to bask in their success. All the endless hours they had spent looking for each other, and here they were. Together.

Riku had to blink back the tears. He didn't know if he had the words to describe how it felt to have his best friend back. Chuckling, he pushed Sora off him gently and stood up, brushing himself off. Somehow, bizarrely, Riku seemed to be wearing something besides that Organization coat. Jeans and a yellowish vest…where the hell had they come from?

Sora had noticed it as well. He was staring meditatively at Riku, sapphire eyes screwed up in concentration. "Those weren't the clothes you were wearing when we closed the door," he decided finally.

"You're right," Riku laughed. "That's fairly…odd."

Donald, who had finished administrating his cure spells, waddled over. "I wonder where they came from…"

"Plot device?" Goofy suggested. The dog had a knack for simplifying irrelevant situations.

Riku laughed again, hefting his sword back over his shoulder. He looked toward Sora, who was still staring at him like he might disappear, like only the force of his mind could make him stay.

"Don't worry, Sora. I'm here for good."


	16. You Raise Me Up

Disclaimer: Not Mine

Yet again, another unbelievably long break between updates. Due to lack of time and lack of inspiration and lack of chocolate. Ah, chocolate…

I'm really trying to wrap this up, but I keep coming up with more and more shit to put in. Ah well. This is definitely not the last chapter. Maybe not even second to last. I guess

we'll see.

I wanted to get this up, but I might update again during Thanksgiving break…depending upon you guys and your reviews!

Chapter 16

You Raise Me Up

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains, _

_You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas._

_I am strong when I am on your shoulders.  
You raise me up, to more than I can be._

"_You Raise me Up"-Josh Groban _

"Whoa," Reno breathed, stretching out in the warm light. "That's some pretty rough stuff." Several hours must have passed since he'd found himself in this desert oasis, but the sun hadn't seemed to have moved at all. They were still sitting in blinding daylight. And it was giving him a headache.

"You're telling me," Axel mused, idelly trailing his fingers through the water.

Reno was still having a bit of difficulty processing all of this. "Let me see if I'm understanding you. Basically, the entire universe is being taken over by these creepy little heartless things that wanna steal your heart?"

"Yeah. You're such a fast learner."

"Shut up. And there's this other group of people called the Organization who're trying to find this place with all the hearts in it?"

"Yep."

"Kingdom Hearts?"

"Totally."

"And the universe's only hope is some kid with spiky hair and a big key?"

Axel shrugged. "I know it doesn't sound like much of a hope, but you haven't met Sora. As much as it pains me to say it…I think he can actually do it. I mean, it—,"

"No," Reno interrupted. "I think I can get it. I've definitely meant some fucking unlikely heroes back at home."

"Like who?" Axel chuckled. "Maybe I've met them. We've been up to our asses in heroes lately."

"Yeah…how would they get here?" Reno inquired. "I mean, I'm here, but that's only 'cause you are, right?"

Axel nodded. "You'd need a really strong heart to survive nowadays."

Scooping up the crystal clear water, Reno dumped a handful over his head, letting it trail down his neck. He laughed. "Shit, I can't really think of any strong hearted people…" He looked up. "Hey, there was one son of a bitch…he was noble, anal retentive, delusional, sexy, and all that other crap heroes are supposed to be. I think."

Axel was trying very hard to keep a straight face. "Who?"

"Cloud. I know, right? Fucking odd name." Reno shook his head. "Holy, that fucker caused us some grief."

"So I'm guessing you were one of the bad guys?"

"Huh?"

Axel was now following Reno's example of dunking his head in the water. He came up dripping, hair smoothed into slick, fiery spikes. "You said that Cloud guy gave you trouble. He was a hero, right? So that means you must have been the villain."

Reno snorted. "Yeah right, the villain. I might have been on the losing side, but I was definitely not the…the _villain. _I just happen to kill people for a living. Villain….for _fuck's _sake!"

"Hey, calm down," Axel laughed. "I wasn't attacking you or anything. I happen to be a villain myself."

"Well, fabulous," Reno said. "We should form a club."

Axel laughed, as if reveling in the absurdity the two of them in close proximity seemed to create. Nobody and Somebody weren't ever truly meant to meet; it was like a clash of egos to the maximum degree. It was so odd to look into a pair of eyes and see yourself reflected back so perfectly.

"Yeah, we could call our club 'bad guys gone good'," suggested Axel with a stupid grin.

Reno rolled his eyes. "Or we could call it the 'let's stop making dumb jokes and get the fuck out of here' club."

Axel thought about it for a moment. "I don't think that would fit on the T-shirt."

Tiny silver fish darted out of the way, fleeing the submerged man who had been shoved off the rock by his exasperated counterpart.

* * *

Sai'x fought like a man possessed. Or a bull with something stuck up its ass.

It just depends on what kind of image you're going for.

Whatever the case, Kairi was hard pressed to keep herself from dying, even with the keyblade's magic. Without it, she would have been toast in a moment, burnt to a blackened crisp. It was amazing what gripping that intricate piece of metal was doing to her body. She felt a million times lighter, a million times faster, and a whole lifetime stronger. She'd actually just performed a back flip, something she couldn't do back at home if her life had depended on it.

Right now, in fact, it did.

_Is this what Sora goes through everyday? _

What a terrible life it must have been. Fighting to stay alive to the next moment, not knowing what's lurking in those shadows over there, or what's waiting behind the next corner.

Sai'x was panting slightly, standing back to regroup.

"Too bad old man," Kairi shot out. "If you weren't _ancient _maybe you'd be able to keep up with me…"

Sai'x flashed her a withering smile. It looked quite painful. "Don't get carried away, _little girl. _I'll see you bleeding on the ground yet."

Kairi just laughed at him. Her laugh quickly turned to a cry of pain, however, when she was hit in the gut with a water spell, effectively drenching her and sending her sprawling to the ground. She coughed, her body trying to force some oxygen into her pummeled lungs. Expecting death at any moment, she struggled to sit up, just in time to feel yet another spell wash over her, sending her spiraling into the darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Time to wake up, my dear!"

Kairi groaned. Her head was throbbing and there was an insistent ringing in her ears. Someone was shaking her by the shoulders. "Fuck off," she growled.

The unfamiliar voice tutted. "Now really! Is that any way to treat someone who just saved your life?"

Kairi cracked an eye open. "Saved my life?" she repeated. A small, hazy form swam into focus. "Why'd you go and do that?"

The figure laughed. Actually, you could barely call him a figure. He was that small. Even from where Kairi lay flat on her back, she got the impression he would be barely half her size when she finally stood up. Strange…he didn't seem to be human. What she had at first taken to be a very odd hat…no…ears?

"A mouse..?" Kairi laughed. "This is insane."

The mouse made a face, putting his hands on his hips. As odd as that sounds.

"Not as insane as many things you're likely to come across, my dear." He bowed low, nose nearly brushing the marble floor of the tower. "It's a pleasure to find another keyblade wielder."

"Yeah, likewise," Kairi muttered, eyeing the golden weapon the mouse had in his left paw. "I'm Kairi."

The mouse nodded. "I know. We've met, though you've forgotten. I'm Mickey. Nice to meet'cha!" He offered Kairi a surprisingly adept looking paw, which she accepted after a moment's hesitation. With a cry of surprise, she found herself hoisted to her feet. The mouse was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Where's Sai'x?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"Gone." Mickey grinned ever so slightly. "Won't be worrying about him anytime soon. Is there something wrong, dear?"

Kairi, who had frowned, shook her head slowly. "No. Not really, it's just…I kind of wanted to kill the bastard myself."

"Believe me, Kairi, there wasn't much left for me to do. You must have a very strong heart."

Kairi smiled. "Thanks. You probably know Sora, right?"

"Yep!" Mickey exclaimed. "And I'm gonna bring ya to him right now!"

"Sounds like a plan," Kairi said, smiling finally. "I've been waiting to see him."

To her slight surprise, Mickey's grin slipped a bit. Something that could have been interpreted as a glimmer of sadness seemed to enter his eyes. "Yes, my dear, I'm sure you have."

"What is it?" Kairi asked, dread filling the pit of her stomach like ice.

Mickey shrugged, as well as a mouse could. "It's probably nothing, Kairi. Come now." He made a familiar diagonal slashing motion through the air with his keyblade. A portal was called up, but instead of remaining a gluttonous pool of shifting darkness, it solidified into a gleaming door. "After you," the mouse said, bowing again.

Mickey waited until Kairi had walked through the door before following, shaking his head sadly, his great ears flapping. Sometimes the king wished he didn't possess the power to read hearts. It was a burden; foreseeing people's troubles before they themselves experienced them. If the girl from Destiny Islands thought everything would be sunshine and daisies when she finally found her friends, then she was very much mistaken. Too many thing had changed in the last few years for the three of them to continue on as they had once upon a time.

And deep down, Mickey was sure they knew it as well as he did.

* * *

Kairi could scarcely contain her excitement. It felt like the portal was taking its sweet time; devouring her into that familiar, though no longer quite as forbidding, darkness. She was nearly jumping out of her skin with impatience. What should she do when first when she saw Sora?

_Should I launch myself at the boy, or should I make him come to me? _

She laughed to herself, and finally the darkness began to clear, revealing yet another stretch of dark floating island of metal and piping that seemed to be the bulk of The World That Never Was. This one was different, however, as there were two boys standing on it, hand in hand, their backs turned to her. The silver-haired one leaned in close, muttering something in the brunette's ear, making him giggle.

Kairi froze.

Why did it feel like she'd just walked in on something she wasn't meant to see?

_They're best friends, _she told herself firmly. _They haven't seen each other for two years. Of course they'd be all friendly and shit. _

Regardless, Kairi found her desire to launch herself at her old friends had dripped away like dirty water being sucked down a drain.

"Hey guys," she called out hesitantly.

The boys turned as one, twin smiles lighting up their faces.

"Kairi!"

Sora cleared the platform in less than a moment, hugging Kairi with such force that she was reminded fleetingly of Pluto. She buried her face in his jacket, taking in the familiar, purely Sora smell. At least that had remained the same, even if other things hadn't. Just standing here and hugging him, Kairi could feel the changes hardship had wrought on her friend's body. He had filled out slightly, though he was still fairly skinny. No way he would ever have the perfect, androgynous physic Riku was known for, but there were definitely some new muscles here and there.

"Sora…" she said, looking up at him. "Why're you blonde?"

"I'm not blonde!" Sora cried defensively. "It's just a little lighter now, that's all!"


	17. Homecoming

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts I'd probably rape Riku. But I don't, so he is safe. For now….muhahahahahah.

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, you all know how it goes. Nite is fucking lazy and fucking busy and she doesn't have time to write. Sorry about the delay again, guys.

This next chapter starts after the final battle with Xemnas. I didn't feel like writing that huge, long fight, and you guys know what happens anyway. And if you don't, I'll give you a little hint. They win.

Chapter 17

Homecoming

_Here they come marching down the street, _

_Like the desperation murmur of a heartbeat. _

_Coming back from the edge of town _

_In the summer heat... _

"Homecoming"

-Green Day

"Hey…" Sora's face creased in confusion. "This is the ocean…"

Riku squinted. He was right. Somehow, the portal between that goddamn funhouse of a battleground had sent them to a beach. The familiar smell of salt and spray filled his senses, but he was sure this wasn't Destiny Island. It looked nothing like it. It was too dark. The sand was a sickly grey, the water almost black. The sky was overcast. A cloudbank over the water tumbled ominously in the stiff breeze.

"We're still in the Darkness," he muttered. He started to get up, but pain shot through his chest, forcing him back down.

"Here," Sora said, throwing his friend's arm around his shoulder and hoisting him to his feet. He grabbed Riku by the back of the belt, making for the tide line. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Riku grit his teeth. "I'm fine," he gasped. "That bastard really did a number on me, though."

"Yeah, but we kicked his ass!" Sora proclaimed happily.

Riku smiled fondly. "Well, aren't you vulgar?"

"Riku…" Sora rolled his eyes. "We just saved the universe. I think I have the right to a little vulgarity.

Riku laughed. "You're right. You probably—argh!" He stumbled, pain lancing up his side. Sora made a grab for him, but the silver-haired boy collapsed to the sand, pulling him down on top. The two heroes rolled the rest of the way in a tumble, coming to rest just before the tide line.

"Shit," Riku coughed.

"Totally," Sora agreed, smiling in spite of the situation. "Do you want me to heal you, Rikkkuuu?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "No, Sora. That's alright. I can heal myself, thank you very much."

"Why dontcha then?"

"I'm gathering my strength."

"Whatever." Sora turned his gaze out to sea, the grin dropping off his face. "Do you ever think we're gonna get out of here? I mean, I don't think I know how to open one of those swirly black things."

Riku shrugged. "I don't know, Sora."

Sora looked back at him. "At least we're together, right?"

"Yeah…"

Riku fought back the tears that were threatening to spring to his eyes. Sora had turned back to the sea, expression thoughtful.

_He looks so much older…_Riku thought. _He's grown so much since the last time we fought together…_

"Your hair's a lot lighter," he commented.

Sora gave a grunt of exasperation, though he was grinning all the same. "Everybody's obsessed with the hair. You all just want me for my body."

Riku snorted. "Yeah. That's it."

Sora shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I think it has something to do with Roxas. I think all of this has something to do with Roxas." He waved his arms in an all-encompassing gesture. "It doesn't seem fair, you know? That I get to live and he doesn't even exist anymore."

Riku was shaking his head. "No, Sora. He's right here."

He pressed a sweaty palm to his friend's chest, feeling the resilient pulse. He chuckled.

"What's funny?"

"I was just thinking…Something so fragile…is so strong."

Sora blushed. "I-I'm not that strong. If it hadn't been for Donald or Goofy or Leon or—."

"No, Sora," Riku said again. "If it hadn't been for _you._" He ruffled the boy's spiky hair, making him laugh and swat his hand away. "We would all be dead if it wasn't for you."

"Come on, Riku. Don't get all sappy on me now…"

Riku chuckled again, but the laugh quickly turned to a hacking cough, rattling his whole body. When he drew his hand away from his mouth it was dotted by speckles of blood.

"Screw this." Sora pushed Riku onto his back, pinning his arms down.

"What the hell?"

"I'm healing you. 'Gathering my strength' my ass." He put his hands on Riku's stomach, splaying his fingers over the fractured ribs. He closed his eyes. The magic came easily now, like a second nature. As simple as breathing. A faint green glow traveled down his arms, seeping into Riku. The boy clenched his teeth against the pain as bones mended and muscles knit back together. He was very pale and his hair was a complete mess, but Sora still couldn't help but be struck by how beautiful he was.

_I'm such a girl, _he thought wryly.

Riku took a deep shuddering breath. The pain had lessened somewhat, and he gave Sora's hand a squeeze of thanks.

"I missed your eyes," he muttered, then instantly colored when he realized what he'd said. He tried to cover it up with a laugh, sitting up and brushing his hair out of his sweaty face. "Wow, that came out funny."

"Yeah," Sora agreed lightly, embarrassed. He'd always been kind of self-conscious of his eyes. They were _too _blue. Like, _fake _blue.

"Riku?"

The silver haired boy was looking down at his hands. It seemed like he was trying to work himself up to something. He glanced up.

"Yes, Sora?"

"Are you alright?"

Riku took a deep breath. "Sora, I gotta talk to you about something."

* * *

Reno rolled over onto his stomach. "So, what now, yo?"

Axel glanced at him through eyes slitted against the sunlight. "Not quite sure." The sun hadn't moved an inch; it was still high noon. Axel imagined they could be here for a goddamn week and it would never look any different.

"Do ya think we're…you know…dead?"

Axel shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

Reno gave him a 'you're fucking crazy, yo' look. "Hell yeah, it matters. We're fucking dead, man! Doesn't that upset you just a little."

"I don't get upset." Axel frowned slightly. "I don't get anything." He lay back down on the sand, feeling it burn against his unprotected back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reno demanded.

Axel didn't look at him. "It means that I can't feel."

"So you can't feel this?"

Axel felt a light hand on his stomach. He looked up, recognizing his own smirk on Reno's face.

"No, I can feel it, I just…you know what I mean."

Reno smiled without any real conviction. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Axel sat up once again, feeling restless. He drew his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. He sighed, long and drawn out. "I can't love, and I can't hate. I don't feel pity or envy." He gave a little laugh. "Or at least that's what he told me." He didn't explain this cryptic comment any further.

"But there was someone, right?" Reno prodded. "You—we—loved…someone."

"We did." Axel's eyes were glued to the yellow sand. "But he's gone." He glanced up to see how Reno would react to the 'him'.

The man shrugged. "Hey, sex is sex. Doesn't really matter to me where you stick it in." Axel chuckled at the crudeness, but quickly sobered as Reno asked, "What happened to him?"

"He's gone."

"Sorry, yo, I didn't mean'ta—."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal." And then, quieter, almost to himself, "I'll get over it."

* * *

"I hate boys, Pluto. They're stupid and they should all be shot."

The big yellow dog wagged his tail happily, seemingly unconcerned that Kairi was bashing his gender. They were both seated on the beach on Destiny Island. It was getting on toward sunset, and Kairi was still waiting for Sora and Riku.

She'd gone through the portal home first, expecting the boys to emerge after her. When they didn't she'd had to face the facts. The little sons of bitches had gone to finish the bad guys off without her.

_Is that really so surprising? They're just concerned about you that's all. _

Kairi groaned, messaging her temples. "Shut the hell up, Namine."

Light laughter echoed through her mind. It reminded her of church bells, not the funeral kind. The good kind.

_Don't be rude, Kai. I know where you live. _The laughter sounded again. _Besides, it's your fault that you can hear me. _

"What the hell do you mean?" Kairi demanded, almost whining. She and Sora had excepted their blonde counterparts back in, thus securing their souls and making themselves whole again. It had been weird—to say the very least.

But now she was hearing perpetual voices in her head. That wasn't just weird. After all the bullshit she'd gone through in the past week and a half, it was downright _criminal._

_What I mean, _Namine continued, sounding light-hearted and happy despite Kairi's annoyance, _Is that you can only hear me when you're at a vulnerable state emotionally. When you need to get in touch to your…sensitive side?_

"Namine, I'm a girly girl. I have nothing _but _a sensitive side."

_A girly girl, huh?_

"You better fucking believe it."

_Whatever. Anyway, you're going to continue to be conscious of me until you rid yourself of what has been weighing on your mind since you found your boys. _

"What do you mean? Nothing's weighing on my mind!" She didn't even manage to fool herself, let alone her _other _self.

_There's something you need to talk about with Sora, isn't there? _

"Yeah…" Kairi said. She sifted her fingers through the sand. The sun had left this side of the island, sinking into the horizon in a blaze of red and gold. She'd found herself on her home world after she'd stepped through King Mickey's portal, but she had no inclination to go find her parents or Selphie or Tidus or anyone else. She felt separate—as if her time away had made her different. So different she could never go back.

And Namine was right. There was something she needed to talk to Sora about, but the conversation wouldn't go the way she had previously imagined. Only a few short hours ago, she had been prepared to admit her undying love for the keyblade wielder. But things had changed.

_Sora changed. I changed. Riku changed. Why did everything have to fucking change? _

"That's just life," she said aloud, to know one in particular. To Pluto, perhaps, who had showed up shortly after her return to Destiny Island. She hadn't asked, and he hadn't provided any explanation.

She was just about to say 'fuck it' and head home (she was getting kind of hungry) when something caught her eye out at sea. A brilliant flash and a rush of wind. She squinted. There was something out there, bobbing in the waves. Two somethings. She watched them come closer and closer, a million conflicting emotions boiling inside her. She managed to force on what she hoped was an ecstatic look of glee, as Sora ran from the surf, dripping wet, and launched himself at her.

"Kairi!" he squealed. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, and when Riku jogged up from the tide line and joined in the group hug, she found herself unable to stop the tears. She had her boys back. Her best friends. Everything she'd hoped for.

Which made what she was about to do that much harder.

* * *

Yeah. The next chapter is going to be the last one, and then there'll be an epilogue. If you liked it, review it! 


	18. The Walk

Disclaimer: Yeah. I don't own 'em. I just rent 'em.

A/N: Oh my fuckin' god! It's the last chapter! Well, not really. There'll be an epilogue.

Chapter 18

The Walk

_It's not meant to be like this, _

_Not when I planned it all._

_I'm not meant to feel like this, _

_So that makes it all your fault._

"The Walk"

Imogen Heap

* * *

The water was beautiful.

Kairi had never had a reason to appreciate it before. Growing up on the coast, her childhood playground had been the chain of tiny islands just a boat ride away. The sea had always just been _there, _a part of everyday life. But now it had become a work of art, pale azure turning to burnished gold in the presence of the setting sun, and finally fading to deep blue in the distance.

Beautiful.

Kairi extended her arm, opening her hand and flexing her fingers. There was a flash of light and she felt the now familiar weight of her keyblade. Strange. She remembered Sora telling her there was only one wielder. So what did that make her and Riku? And king Mickey, for that matter? Sora may have been wrong, of course, or the universe may have made an exception. Maybe it thought they'd needed it. The good guys.

She slashed horizontally overhead, spinning and crouching down low, blocking an imaginary attack. The keyblade was beautiful as well. It had helped her do some beautiful things.

Beautiful and terrible.

_I killed people, _she thought. _I killed people and I don't even care. _

To be fair, they hadn't really been people. They'd been remnants of people, hearts and souls. How twisted would someone have to be in order to wind up with Sai'x for a soul? Kairi shuddered. _He_ was someone she certainly didn't regret killing. But at the last moment, when she'd delivered the final blow that had sent that orange-eyed beast back to the darkness he'd crawled from, something had changed. Something in his face, something in his gaze. For the briefest moment, he'd found peace. The Kingdom Hearts he'd been searching so fervently for had been in his grasp. Maybe it had been an illusion, but it had been real enough to fool the senses.

Slowly, the keyblade faded from her grasp.

Kairi thought she knew how Sai'x had felt. Clinging so tightly to a belief, letting it guide you through. If it ever changed, if it were ever to be broken, you'd be lost. Throughout all of this craziness, Kairi had always had one thing to depend on. Her love for Sora. Her burning _need _for him. It had been like marble, solid and unchanging.

But she needed to realize something. If she didn't admit this to herself, it would destroy her, and possibly him as well.

She didn't love Sora. Not the way she thought she had, at least. He was her best friend, and she'd always feel _that _way. Always depend on him, always need him by her side. But not in _that _way, not in the way she'd needed—

"Axel…"

Fiery hair sprang to her mind, and skin much too pale to be healthy. Blinding green eyes and tear drop tattoos. So evil, yet so beautiful. Wait, not evil. _Empty. _Lost. Without.

Sora…Sora was all of it. A hero, a savior, a pure-hearted, genuinely good person. But after all the things he'd seen, all the creatures he'd killed in the name of preserving the universe, was his heart still as snowy white as it had been to start with? And what of herself, of Kairi? Of a Princess of Heart?

She doubted she could even claim the title anymore. Destiny had forced her into play, and she'd become a fighter and a killer. Neither of them were the people they once were, the silly little boy and girl from the islands who had been two shy to tell each other their feelings. They were…beyond that.

"Kairi?"

A shadow fell across her. She glanced to the side, and laughed.  
_Well, speak of the devil. _

"Hi, Sora," she said quietly, turning back to the sea. "How's…everything?"

"The same," he said, sitting down next to her. "Everything's exactly the same as before the darkness came. Nobody even realized we've been gone." He ran his fingers through his hair, so much lighter than Kairi remembered it. "My mom's making shrimp for dinner. My favorite. Selphie and Tidus were making out in the seaside shack, and Riku…"

"How's he coping?" Kairi asked, glancing at him.

"I'm not really sure," Sora admitted, hugging his knees. "I think he's still kinda in shock."

Kairi smiled. "Yeah, I guess I understand that."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun in its glorious descent. _I'll be able to see this everyday again, _Kairi thought idly. _I'm back home. It really only has been a week, but it feels like an eternity. _

"Kairi?"

"Hmmm?"

The wind ruffled Sora's hair as he chewed his lip, his mouth puckering into a familiar pout. "It's…It's about…us."

"Us?" Kairi asked nervously.

_Sora, there is no us. There can never be an us. That bridge was burned the moment you became a keyblade master. I just didn't realize until I became one as well. _

"For the longest time, I thought I was in love with you."

Kairi's brow knitted. "What are you…?"

"Just let me…" Sora closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Kairi, I went looking for you. I thought we were destined to be together, I really did, but now…now, I don't know."

Kairi couldn't breathe. She didn't want to take a breath and risk missing a single one of Sora's words. Was she really hearing what she thought she was hearing?

"I—." Sora seemed struggling with how to continue.

"Let me try," Kairi said, coming to the rescue. "You were in love with the old me, but the new me isn't exactly…up to scratch?"

"No!" Sora said, waving his arms wildly. "Kairi, it's not you! It's—."

"You," Kairi finished. "Because you're in love with Riku."

Sora opened his mouth several times, looking like a fish out of water. He blushed deeply and hid his face in his hands.

"I can't help it," he mumbled. "I…he…I love…he's…"

"You don't have to explain it to me, Sora. I don't think it's something that _can _be explained. You love him. You just do. Don't be ashamed of it."

_Does this mean I'm off the hook? _she couldn't help thinking.

"I think…I think this is the way things were meant to be all along," she said helpfully. "Where is Riku?"

"At home," Sora said quickly. "I think he might be sleeping. He's totally worn out."

Kairi raised her eyebrows.

If possible, Sora blushed even more furiously. "That's not…he's not…he's not tired out from sex, Kairi!"

"I wasn't suggesting anything," Kairi said innocently.

"You were too!"

"Was not."

"Yes you were!"

"You just have a dirty mind, Sora," she told him sweetly.

"Hey, look who's talking!" He poked her in the shoulder accusingly and they both laughed.

It was at that moment that they both realized nothing had really changed. Their friendship hadn't been compromised. They'd made it through.

* * *

"How does this work?" Reno asked, surveying the undulating portal of darkness suspiciously.

"Do you know the _meaning_ of the word portal?" Axel asked. He was still lying on the sand lazily, watching his Somebody pace back and forth and try to analyze things. "Don't think too hard," he advised. "You might strain something."

"Fuck you," Reno growled. "Where does this thing go? All of a sudden this random transporty thing shows up and I want to know where it goes, yo!"

"Why don't you walk through the thing and find out?"

Reno wrinkled his nose. "What if it drops me off in some medieval world, with like, a brigade of creepy-ass knights and shit?"

Axel shrugged. "I guess you'll be killed, then? That, or gang-raped."

Reno flipped him the bird. "I don't see how you can be so fucking cavalier about this!"

"Ooo, cavalier. Big word."

"Would you just shut the fuck up?" He breathed in slowly, trying to pull in his scattered thoughts. "So this portal will really take me somewhere else?"

"Well, that's what portals typically do…"

"Stop being a dick. So it'll bring me somewhere. But aren't we dead?"

Axel rolled onto his stomach, looking at Reno.

"Seriously? I'm not exactly sure what we are. When I told you we were in the afterlife, it was kind of an in-the-dark guess."

Reno scratched the back of his neck, pulling his hair out of its ponytail thoughtfully.

"Okay…I guess I'll try it." He looked up at his Nobody. "What about you, yo?"

Axel blinked slowly. "What about me?"

"Aren't you coming with me?"

Axel rose to his feet slowly. "Yeah…I guess I am."

Before Reno could make a sound of protest, he lunged forward, grabbing him by the shoulders, closing his eyes, and shoving with his _mind. _

As he felt his body beginning to dissolve, he though, _so this is it, huh? Goodbye, consciousness. But if I ever want to see Roxas again, I gotta get back into the dating pool, right? Can't do that from the afterlife…_

"What the fuck!" Reno screeched, clawing at his arms as the feeling of having his soul return filled him. For a moment, he knew nothing but blinding pain, and then…

"Holy shit."

All the king's horses and all the king's men had put Reno back together again.

* * *

"Riku, Riku, Riku!"

"Oof." Riku rolled onto his back. "Holy shit! Don't fucking pounce on a guy when he's sleeping! I was dreaming I was killing heartless."

He opened his eyes blearily, pushing strands of silvery hands behind his ears. A giddily smiling Sora swam into view above him, straddling him and trying to tug the covers off.

"Wake up, Ri-ku! Nap's over!"

Riku grinned. "Calm down, I'm awake." He leaned up, kissing Sora softly and fleetingly. A giggle came from the corner. He froze mid-kiss.

"Get a room, guys," Kairi said, beaming.

Riku glared. "We do have a room, Kairi. _You _should get out of it."

Kairi laughed again. "No way I'm gonna leave my two best friends to do unseemly things together…not when I'm really freakin' hungry!"

"Let's get food!" Sora said, bouncing up and down in his excitement.

Riku surveyed his new boyfriend with a little grin. "Ladies and gentleman, the keyblade wielder, savior of the universe! Isn't he dignified?"

"Shut it!" Sora squealed, hitting him squarely in the head with a pillow. "Now get up!"

Kairi watched this little display with both sadness and bliss tugging at her heartstrings. Riku and Sora did look perfect together. Light and dark. Sea and Sky. Something she wouldn't fit into even if she tried.

"Where do you guys wanna eat?" she asked, notifying them of the fact that she was still there and watching their every move.

Riku swung his feet onto the floor, reaching for his muscle shirt and pulling it on. "There's that new Bistro on the mainland," he said, running his fingers through his hair, making sure it wasn't standing on end. "It looked kind of good."

Sora looked doubtful. "Isn't it really expensive…?"

Kairi snorted. "We just saved the fucking universe, guys. We deserve to splurge a little. Besides, Sora," she leaned toward him conspiratorially. "Riku can pick up the tab."

"Okay!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hey!" Riku protested, following them out of his bedroom. "Everyone's against me!"

------

Kairi turned into the wind, standing up despite the little boat rocking under feet as it skimmed over the waves. In the distance, the lights of mainland shone invitingly as the trio made for the town. The sea breeze clung at her hair and her dress, filling her with an exhilaration that even using the keyblade couldn't create. Dusk had almost completely descended; there was just the slightest remaining tinge of red to the west above the horizon.

Riku and Sora were sitting on the floor of the boat together, hands tightly clasped as Riku expertly worked the tiller, keeping them on course. Some time ago this would have filled her with a jealousy burning and intense, but now it just made her feel incredibly…well, incredibly something, that was for sure.

She was off for a night of danger-free excitement with her two best friends in the world. Alright, maybe there wasn't anything _too _exciting about eating at a fancy bistro, but you had to take what you could get, right?

Sora caught her eyes, giving her a thumbs up and a goofy little smile. She grinned back and turned her gaze back to the sea.

She was happy. Yes, she was happy. She was content, but she wasn't going to deny that little bit of regret hidden within her heart, that tiny sliver of longing. A need to see fiery hair and emerald eyes once more in her lifetime, to feel the heat of his skin for just a moment. Kairi couldn't forget it, couldn't forget who it was who had dragged her into this beautiful mess.

She sighed, long and drawn out. A sigh of contentment and unfulfilled desires and unreachable tomorrows.

"What's wrong, Kai?" Sora asked, brow furrowing.

Kairi shook her head. "Nothing, nothing at all," she told him, just as the last of the fiery light faded from the horizon.

-Fin

* * *

But there will be an epilogue! Dun, dun, dun!

Regardless, I hoped you guys enjoyed it. It was downright cathartic to me, getting all of it out. And to all of you out there who aren't slash fans, I'm not going to apologize for the Riku/Sora thing, because I think it really works. They fit really well together, don't deny it.

The name of this chapter "The Walk", is an awesome song by Imogen Heap, who is just a fantastic artist. You should check her out. I think the song sums up this fic pretty well, and basically most of Kingdom Hearts.

Well, look for the epilogue sometime next week. It won't take me too long to write.

Until next time!


	19. Epilogue

Disclaimer: No. I didn't own them at the beginning, and I don't own them now.

Hey everyone. Final chapter. Oh my.

Oh, and just for the purposes of this story, I've decided the drinking age on Destiny Islands is 18.

Epilogue

* * *

Two Years Later

------

"Cheers!"

Kairi smiled, clinking her glass together with Sora's. She appreciated his enthusiasm.

Riku put an arm around him, pulling him close and kissing him on the top of the spiky brown head. Sora tried to struggle away, but Riku clung on, making the boy squeak in frustration.

"Kairi, he's abusing me!"

Kairi shrugged airily. "I…don't really want to know what goes on behind closed doors, guys."

Riku chuckled lightly, settling back in his seat and picking up his wine glass. "Don't lie," he said, swilling the crimson liquid around slowly. "You know you do."

Kairi wrinkled her nose, but internally she was grinning at the picture her two best friends made. Riku hadn't changed much. He was still calm and gorgeous, and his movements still conveyed a kind of languid sophistication that Kairi herself knew she would never achieve. His hair was a bit longer and a bit shinier, and his fashion sense had switched from lurid colors and grimy vests to something a little more mature. Tonight he was dressed in a black silk shirt and an artfully distressed pair of jeans. Of the two of them, Riku was definitely the more obviously gay.

Sora had filled out a bit more, and his hair had continued to lighten until he was more a dirty blonde than a brunette, but he still looked like the same old Sora.

Indeed, her friends hadn't changed much.

Except for…

It wasn't exactly something you could put your finger on. Something so fleeting, so incandescent that only one who knew these boys as intimately as Kairi could pick it up. It was…in the eyes, in the gaze. Somewhere in the green and blue depths of their pupils there was a void. An empty, seething darkness. The mark of one who has gazed into infinity and seen the blackness of the universe, the malice that lurks within the heart and soul. It wasn't always there, and it wasn't always easy to spot. But it existed.

Kairi knew it was in her as well. A burning coldness that gripped at her heart and choked her when she least expected it. It hurt sometimes, too much.

Sora and Riku were lucky. They had each other. Someone they could lean on when the darkness threatened to creep back in. She had no one, no one to share the burden of what she had seen and done.

"So Kairi." Riku leaned forward on his elbows on the table, breaking her thoughts. "You're eighteen. What are you going to do now?"

It was meant as a joke, but all it did was sober Kairi further. She had no idea.

She answered with nothing but a shrug, brushing the question aside. She didn't want to bog down her friends with her problems and useless insecurities. It was her birthday—she was supposed to be excited. Her life was finally about to start, right?

But seriously, after you've saved the entire universe, where the hell can you go from there?

Nowhere.

The only way to go is down.

Sora grabbed Riku's wrist, glancing at his boyfriend's watch. "Riku, it's already ten o'clock!"

Riku looked surprised. "Hell, you're right. It got pretty late, huh?"

They both looked at Kairi. She knew they were waiting for permission to leave. They'd bought Kairi her birthday dinner and now they were ready to get gone.

"Sure, go ahead," she said, plastering a smile on her face. "You guys gonna do anything special?"

Riku winked, signing the bill. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Kairi put her head in her hands. "No, I really don't."

"Oh well, your loss. Shall we, Sora?"

Sora smiled up at Riku, taking his arm and allowing himself to be lead toward the door. They both turned and waved to Kairi, who waved back, however unenthusiastically. When they'd left—Riku's arm around Sora's skinny shoulders—Kairi slumped down in her seat, resting her forehead on the table.

She didn't want to go home. Hell. She _couldn't _go home. She refused. Not another boring, meaningless night. If she'd thought the summer before she left for University was going to be exciting, she'd been dead wrong. Dead, dead, _dead, _wrong.

Kairi couldn't help it—since they'd returned from their battle against the forces of darkness and Organization 13 two years ago she'd been unable to shake the feeling of pointlessness. Meaninglessness. What the hell did anything she do matter when she was nothing more than a miniscule blip in the infinite universe? This world was so tiny, so calm, so…

Boring.

Sighing, Kairi stood up, swinging her black purse onto her shoulders. She was about to follow the boys out of the resturaunt, when something caught her eye. There was a long, swanky looking bar at the back of the dining room. The wall behind it was lined with bottles in every size and variety imaginable. A bartender was currently pouring at a couple of shots, conversing quietly with one of the customers.

Kairi could resist. She was finally old enough to legally buy alcohol. Why not sit at the bar for a couple of minutes? You know, because she could. Smiling slightly in spite of herself, she crossed the dining room, heels clicking on the shiny wooden floor. She chose one of the last stools, detached from the rest of the patrons, who all seemed to be together, laughing at some joke one of them had told. Kairi's lip curled a bit in disgust.

_Idiots. Think their so awesome. Well, newsflash, bitches. The universe doesn't revolve around you. Fuck, not even the world revolves around you. And that is just—_

"Sad."

Kairi blinked, turning her head to see who had spoken. A man had sat down a few stools down from her—the last one, right beside the wall. He was leaning lazily on the bar, an elbow propping him up as he took a long, slow drag from his stub of a cigarette.

"Excuse me?" Kairi said faintly.

The man exhaled, expelling the smoke from his lungs. "I said, sad aren't they?" He gestured with a flick of the cigarette, to the people further down the bar. He flashed her a grin, pushing a stray bit of his hair out of his eyes. It was red, like Kairi's, but much more vibrant—violently red. It was cut short in the front, but the back was pulled into a low, scraggly pony-tail. He was dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a dark blazer, the entire ensemble was fairly rumpled, as if he had a habit of getting into street fights or something like that. There were twin tattoos under his eyes, little scarlet crescents, like identical scars.

Kairi realized she was staring. She shook herself a little, agreeing, "Yeah, I know what you mean."

The man stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray by his elbow, reaching for a shot and knocking it back without the slightest wince. He turned it upside down on the bar.

"Can I buy you a drink, babe?" he asked, pulling some munny from his wallet.

Kairi shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

The man got the bartender's attention, holding up two pale fingers. Kairi felt a funny flash of recognition, but it was swept away before she could cling on and puzzle it out.

"I'm Kairi," she supplied.

The man was lighting another cigarette. "Reno."

"Nice to, uh, meet you," Kairi said, glancing at the drink the bartender had set down in front of her. It was faintly red with couple cherries in it, and it burned all the way down, but she didn't wince either. She didn't know what it was, but she had a burning desire to impress this guy. Maybe he reminded her of someone…

Or maybe he was just sexy, and she was an eighteen year old. Fuckin' hormones.

"So, Reno…" she began, stirring her drink until the cherries began to swirl round and round. "You from around here?"

Reno snorted. "Fuck that. This place is freakin' boring. Not really somewhere I'd like to hang my goddamn hat, ya know?" He gave her another smile. "No, I'm just stopping through."

"Oh." She tried again. "Why are you at the bar?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. Usually, people come to bars when they're depressed, right…?"

Reno eyed her for a moment, cigarette smoldering in this grip. "You depressed, yo?"

Kairi shrugged. "I guess. It's my birthday."

"Really. So, Kairi, where are your friends?"

She rolled her eyes, fishing out one of the cherries and popping it into her mouth, biting down rather hostilely. "They're probably at home. Fucking."

"Oh really? And why aren't you joining in?"

Kairi didn't blush. The Kairi of a couple years ago might have blushed, but not her. "Because they're gay and having sex with my best friends would be supremely awkward."

Reno nodded. "Fair enough." His eyes dropped to the still mostly full glass in front of Kairi. "Babe, if you're not gonna drink that…"

Kairi made an exclamation of protest, both of them reaching for the drink at the same time. Their hands barely touched, just the slightest brush of Reno's fingers on her knuckles, but the result was both severe and instantaneous. She was hit with a barrage of disjointed sounds and images; an empty beach, a roaring fire, a darkened wood, a room of nothing but white. Fiery hair and hot skin under her fingertips, lips brushing the curve of her neck.

As suddenly as it had started, everything stopped. Kairi was left breathless and shaky, left staring into a pair of very familiar green eyes. She gripped the hand touching hers, feeling the heat flowing under the skin.

Reno looked floored. All of that languid charm was gone, replaced by utter shock.

"Hey…" Reno breathed. "You feel that too?"

Kairi nodded.

Reno's eyes narrowed. "Nobody."

Kairi nearly fell off her barstool. "Keyblade," she countered.

"Darkness."

"Annoying portals that pop up at random and unnecessary moments."

"Nasty little black things…"

"Heartless," she supplied.

"Yeah…Organization 13."

"Axel," Kairi whispered.

"Holy shit," Reno said finally, pulling his hand out of Kairi's and nearly collapsing against the bar. "What the fuck?"

Kairi shook her head. "I don't know. Well, I think I know, but I don't…"

"Believe it," Reno supplied.

"Yeah."

Reno sat in silence for a few seconds, staring at his empty shot glass as if transfixed.

"Mother fucker!" he shouted suddenly. The cigarette he'd forgotten about had burned down to a stub, singeing his fingers. All the other bar patrons cast annoyed glances his way.

"Hey, folks," he said with a lazy wave of his hand, before turning back to Kairi. "I'm guessing you had a little to do with all this end of the universe shit?"

"A little," Kairi agreed faintly.

Reno was lighting another cigarette, pouring out another shot. "Fucking hell, I thought all of that shit was over and done with."

"I think it is, but I think we were meant to meet." Kairi didn't know why she'd said it, but she had.

Reno fixed her with that glowing turquoise stare. "You legal?"

"What?" Kairi asked, shocked. Of everything he could have said she definitely had not been expecting that. "Yeah…"

"Do you wanna go somewhere?"

Kairi stared. He was being serious.

_Well, you said you were bored. _

Before she could answer, Reno continued, eyes narrowing slyly, voice dropping to a seductive purr. "Think hard before you answer. I won't go easy on ya just 'cause you're a girl. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah," Kairi said with a little smile. "I think I do."

-End

* * *

So that's all, folks! I hope you guys all enjoyed this as much as I did, and I apologize that it took so long to get up.

Yes, the epilogue was short, but that's just the way I planned the whole thing.

Please review, especially if you've been reading the fic and have never left a review. I'd really like to know if people liked it.


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